The Federal Trade Commission is examining Facebook's acquisitions as part of its Antitrust Investigation into the social-media giant -- to determine if they were part of a campaign to snap up potential rivals before they could become a threat [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source], WSJ reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: The company's acquisition practices are a central component of the FTC probe, the people said. Facebook disclosed the FTC's antitrust investigation in its earnings announcement last week, but provided few details. FTC investigators are looking for evidence on whether Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg purchased startup technology firms to keep them from challenging Facebook's empire, the people said. The FTC has begun reaching out to people who founded companies that Facebook purchased, some of the people said.

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