8 states, D.C. to investigate Facebook over antitrust concerns

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday she's leading a coalition of several states that will investigate social media giant Facebook for possible antitrust violations.

James said she and the attorneys general of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Washington, D.C., will focus on Facebook's dominance in the social industry and whether it's engaging in conduct that's anti-competitive.

"Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law and respect consumers," James said in a statement Friday. "I am proud to be leading a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in investigating whether Facebook has stifled competition and put users at risk.

"We will use every investigative tool at our disposal to determine whether Facebook's actions may have endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers' choices, or increased the price of advertising."

Facebook has faced privacy and antitrust accusations for years. In July, federal regulators fined the company a record $5 billion penalty for violating an order related to the privacy of users' personal information.

Facebook did not immediately respond to the multi-state investigation.