Sen Warren Calls on DOJ and SEC to Open Criminal and Civil Investigations into Facebook

Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to United States Attorney General Merrick Garland and Gary Gensler, Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) and SEC to open criminal and civil investigations into Facebook to determine if the company or its executives violated US wire fraud and securities laws. Warren states that documentation in the public record, bolstered by whistleblower Frances Haugen’s recent revelations, suggests that Facebook may have misled investors, the SEC, its advertising customers, and the public about the “Potential Reach” of advertising on the platform. “Potential Reach” has been a critical metric for measuring Facebook’s advertisements. According to Warren, evidence suggests that Facebook has presented inflated “Potential Reach” figures to advertisers and that high-level executives at Facebook knew about the misrepresentations and refused to either correct the problem or disclose the issue to investors and the SEC. “I urge the DOJ and SEC to immediately commence investigations into Facebook’s representations with respect to Potential Reach and, if you find that the company has in fact violated wire fraud or securities laws, to pursue all available criminal and civil sanctions as appropriate,” said the letter.