Throwback Thursday: The Tipline for 22 August 2019

Seven years ago today, the Federal Trade Commission announced it had closed its nonpublic investigation into whether Facebook’s proposed acquisition of Instagram violated federal antitrust law. “This action is not to be construed as a determination that a violation may not have occurred, just as the pendency of an investigation should not be construed as a determination that a violation has occurred,” the FTC said in a letter to Facebook, noting that the agency “reserves the right to take such further action as the public interest may require”. The agency is now retrospectively reviewing that acquisition, among others.