Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft ordered to give details on acquisition data

Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 1:16 PM by Oluwatobi Bolashodun

- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently investigating possible breaches of regulations in five American technology companies

- The companies include Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook

- According to the commission, this serves as a notice to the companies and this could lead to enforcement action

Five big technology companies in the United States of America have been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to disclose details behind their acquisition of smaller businesses.

This is following concerns raised about reports of unfair and anti-competitive behavior from Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.

The five technological companies have been accused of unfairly using their clout to defend market share or expand into adjacent markets.

State attorney-general alongside the House Judiciary Committee and Justice department would conduct investigations.

Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft ordered to give details on acquisition data
Source: UGC

The acquisition of Instagram by Facebook and the purchase of Whole Foods by Amazon, caught the eye of the regulators, Venturebeat.com reports.

Read also

NCDC finally opens up on Coronavirus outbreak claim, tells Nigeria what number to call

Joseph Simons, FTC chairperson, indicated that the big companies have been issued notices for research purposes. However, he indicated that it could lead to enforcement action if this evidence shows that there are problems.

At the time of filing this report, the only company to have responded is Microsoft. The tech company noted that it is looking forward to working with the FTC to get to the bottom of the matter.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, is now worth $128.9 billion (N46,597,350,000,000), cementing his position as the world's richest person after Amazon delivered strong holiday sales.

According to the company, analyst expectations were surpassed when quarterly profits and revenue grew by the double digits, Forbes reports. Bezos and Bill Gates had made it to the position of the richest person on earth.