Washington, D.C. – Barry C. Lynn, Executive Director of the Open Markets Institute, made the following statement in light of breaking news that the FTC has opened an investigation into Facebook's privacy practices:

"It's long past time for the FTC to wake up to the dangers posed by Big Tech, not only to privacy, not only to our economy, but to our democracy. At Open Markets we welcome the news that the Agency has opened an investigation into Facebook. But that must be only the first step. As our team made clear last week in an op-ed in The Guardian, the FTC must go much further and use its broad authority to restructure Facebook in ways that make this vital system of communications safe for American democracy. This should include reversing Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram; imposing strict privacy rules perhaps based on Europe's new GDPR; and spinning off Facebook's ad network to eliminate the incentive to amass data and to discriminate in the provision of news and information to Americans."

The full list of recommendations can be found in Lynn's op-ed in The Guardian.

If you are interested in speaking with our team, please reach out to press@openmarketsinstitute.org.

The Open Markets Institute works to protect our economy and democracy from extreme concentrations of economic and political power. We do so by researching and reporting on the political and economic dangers posed by monopolization and advocating for ways to reestablish America's political economy on a more fair, secure, and stable footing.