FTC confirms it's investigating Facebook, and Facebook stock drops

The Federal Trade Commission confirmed that it has an opened a "non-public" investigation into Facebook Inc.'s privacy practices. The social media giant's stock quickly dropped more than 5 percent. It's now down more than 20 percent from its Feb. 1 high.

Tom Pahl, Acting Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, issued the following statement regarding reported concerns about Facebook’s privacy practices: “The FTC is firmly and fully committed to using all of its tools to protect the privacy of consumers. Foremost among these tools is enforcement action against companies that fail to honor their privacy promises, including to comply with Privacy Shield, or that engage in unfair acts that cause substantial injury to consumers in violation of the FTC Act. Companies who have settled previous FTC actions must also comply with FTC order provisions imposing privacy and data security requirements. Accordingly, the FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook. Today, the FTC is confirming that it has an open non-public investigation into these practices.”