FTC Chairman Simons says breaking up Facebook would be hard to do. Intends to complete investigation before 2020 election.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons said that Facebook’s effort to integrate Instagram and WhatsApp more closely could stymie any attempt to break up the social media giant. Chairman Simons said all options were on the table as the FTC investigates Facebook for potential antitrust violations, including major divestitures, but added that the plan by Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive, to knit together Facebook’s three major brands could complicate any case. “If they’re maintaining separate business structures and infrastructure, it’s much easier to have a divestiture in that circumstance than in where they’re completely enmeshed and all the eggs are scrambled,” he said. Chairman Simons signalled that he intended to complete the FTC’s investigation into Facebook before the 2020 election. “Any significant case that I’m trying to emphasise, I would want to be out before the election,” he said.