In a newly launched probe, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office is investigating claims that Facebook forces users to agree to its privacy policies or risk being cut out from their connections. This may be the first major anti-trust case based on privacy concerns. "The fear of social isolation is exploited to get access to the complete surfing activities of users," lawyer Frederik Wiemer explained. By accepting Facebook’s privacy policy, the user allows the company to harvest lots of personal data to sell to advertisers, who use it to create targeted ads that have a higher chance to monetize.