Germany well-placed to handle Facebook privacy case: European official

Competition commissioner says company unlikely to face EU regulators now that Germany is scrutinizing its data protection policies

Facebook is unlikely to come under separate EU antitrust scrutiny since Germany, which launched an investigation into the social network last week, is well-placed to handle the case, Europe's antitrust chief said on Monday.

The comments by European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager came after the German competition office said last week it was investigating Facebook for suspected abuse of market power over breaches of data protection laws.