The US Department of Justice ( DOJ ) and Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) will launch a wide - ranging investigation into e - commerce , online search and social media companies , to determine if they " reduced competition , stifled competition , or otherwise harmed consumers " . Shares fell in Facebook , Apple , Amazon and Twitter which , alongside Google , are likely to be scrutinised during the open - ended investigation . The company said it would " seek redress " if laws were violated . “If violations of law are identified,” the DOJ wrote this afternoon, “the Department will proceed appropriately to seek redress,” which would include issues outside the scope of antitrust that are nonetheless discovered during the process of their research. Facebook was recently fined $ 5bn by the FTC , and enabled greater oversight of its privacy policies as part of the settlement .
The US Department of Justice ( DOJ ) and Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) will launch a wide - ranging investigation into e - commerce , online search and social media companies , to determine if they " reduced competition , stifled competition , or otherwise harmed consumers " . Shares fell in Facebook , Apple , Amazon and Twitter which , alongside Google , are likely to be scrutinised during the open - ended investigation . The company said it would " seek redress " if laws were violated . Facebook was recently fined $ 5bn by the FTC , and enabled greater oversight of its privacy policies as part of the settlement .