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Federal Trade Commission (FTC) President Joseph Simons said that if Facebook intends to more closely combine Instagram and WhatsApp in its ecosphere, it could be more difficult to break the technology giant, if it comes to this, according to a report by Reuters.
The FTC is investigating the social media company for possible antitrust transgressions, and Simons claimed that every potential option was open, while admitting that if CEO Mark Zuckerberg had combined the three properties it would have made the case more difficult to deal with.
"If they maintain separate company structures and infrastructures, it is much easier to have a supply in that circumstance than that in which they are completely enmeshed and all the eggs are cooked," said Simons.
Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 and both properties have over 1 billion users. The company has been under pressure from regulatory authorities around the world regarding data problems and uses.
Facebook received a $ 5 billion fine in July for its users' privacy practices and said it will improve the way it protects user data. In 2012, Facebook violated a consent decree stating that it would protect user information when it was involved in a scandal in the British political company Cambridge Analytica, where information from 87 million people was shared without authorization.
Facebook also recently pulled out of a deal to buy the social media app focused on Houseparty videos antitrust control.
The social media giant was supposedly in talks with Houseparty, but eventually decided that the acquisition would be too risky. The massive technology companies are undergoing greater federal control and the new FTC antitrust investigation on Facebook has not made it easier in this regard.
The Houseparty platform attracts young people under the age of 24 and offers group video chats. Epic Games, Fortnite producer, purchased Houseparty in June for an undisclosed amount.
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