Facebook Falls Following Reports Of Potential FTC Probe

Facebook Inc. FB's stock fell Monday following reports the Federal Trade Commission "will lead an antitrust investigation under an arrangement that gives the Justice Department chief oversight" of Alphabet Inc. GOOGLGOOG's Google.

It seems U.S. antitrust officials are under pressure from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers and advocates of tougher enforcement to step up scrutiny of technology giants like Google and Facebook.

According to reports, the department shares authority to enforce U.S. antitrust law and at times must work out turf arrangements regarding which agency will handle what issues.

The FTC already has spent more than a year investigating Facebook on privacy issues related to how it handles users' data.

On Monday, Facebook's stock traded down 7.2 percent at $164.54 per share. Along with Alphabet's 6-percent drop, this has weighed on the broader markets.

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