Zuckerberg, Sandberg may depose by FTC in antitrust probe: Report

The FTC is preparing for a sworn legal testimony from them as part of its probe into whether the social networking giant has violated US antitrust laws, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

"Top Facebook officials are preparing for potential depositions and some are worried about the possibility," the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify before the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee along with the CEOs of tech giants Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon during an antitrust hearing on July 27.

Apple's Tim Cook, Facebook's Zuckerberg, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai and Amazon's Jeff Bezos will testify before the antitrust panel that is working on proposals to reform and regulate the digital market.

The hearing would mark the first time all four top executives testify together in front of Congress, virtually or in-person.

"Since last June, the Subcommittee has been investigating the dominance of a small number of digital platforms and the adequacy of existing antitrust laws and enforcement," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI) said in a statement earlier this month.

"Given the central role these corporations play in the lives of the American people, it is critical that their CEOs are forthcoming. As we have said from the start, their testimony is essential for us to complete this investigation".

The House Judiciary Committee announced its antitrust probe into the four tech giants in June last year.

The FTC also issued special orders to these companies n February this year, requiring them to provide information about prior acquisitions not reported to the antitrust agencies under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act.

The orders require information and documents on the terms, scope, structure, and purpose of transactions that each company consummated between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2019.

The Commission said it wanted to conduct wide-ranging studies of these acquisitions that do not have a specific law enforcement purpose.

"Digital technology companies are a big part of the economy and our daily lives," said FTC Chairman Joe Simons.