Investing.com - As the broader market struggled to hold onto gains midday, the communications services sector was a notable loser.
The S&P 500 Communication Services index fell about 0.4%, with Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), off about 1.2%, dragging on the index.
Shares fell following a New York Times report that the Federal Trade Commission is under increasing criticism for not protect people’s privacy when it comes to Silicon Valley giants like Facebook.
It’s the latest news in what has been a year of controversy over privacy with Facebook. The stock is set to end the year down more than 27%.
But weakness in the sector was tempered by gains in other big-name stocks, with Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) rising 1.4% and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) gaining 3.75%.