Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg speaks onstage during the Facebook session at the Cannes Lions 2019: Day Three on June 19, 2019 in Cannes, France.
Richard Bord | Getty Images
Google and Facebook pledged to help each other if they ever undergo an investigation into their pact to partner in online advertising, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.
The story is based on an unedited version of a lawsuit filed last week by 10 US states against Google and seen by the Journal.
Google and Facebook reportedly struck a deal in September 2018 whereby Facebook agreed not to compete with Google’s online advertising tools. In return, the social media giant received “special treatment” when using them himself, according to the Journal.
The lawsuit reportedly states that Google and Facebook knew their deal could lead to antitrust investigations.
A Google spokesperson told CNBC the allegations in the lawsuit were false. “The idea that this was a secret deal is just plain wrong. We’ve been in public about this partnership for years,” they said.
Facebook did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Read The Journal’s full story here.