Facebook is soaring, but this investor is concerned it has too much power

With the looming threat of a US antitrust investigation into Facebook, you'd think that the company's stock would be having an absolutely awful year. But that's not the case. Far from it, as a matter of fact.

Posted 4:00 p.m. Jun 18, 2019 — Updated 4:00 p.m. Jun 18, 2019

Paul R. La Monica

, CNN Business

CNN — With the looming threat of a US antitrust investigation into Facebook, you'd think that the company's stock would be having an absolutely awful year. But that's not the case. Far from it, as a matter of fact.

Facebook is up more than 45% this year, boosting its market value back above $500 billion and pushing it closer to returning to last year's all-time high. The stock has gotten a lift recently from hopes about the company's new Libra cryptocurrency.

But many Facebook critics think it has way too much power in the social media and digital advertising business.

That's why some politicians on both sides of the aisle want to break up the company. And a former investor in Facebook, Roger McNamee of private equity firm Elevation Partners, thinks Facebook — and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in particular — needs to be reined in.

Facebook is an 'addiction'

McNamee will join CNN anchor and correspondent Paula Newton on CNN Business' "Markets Now" live show Wednesday. He wrote a book earlier this year titled "Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe," arguing that Facebook and other big social media companies like YouTube owner Google are harmful to society.

"Facebook and Google designed their products to create habits that for many people become an addiction," McNamee told CNN Business earlier this year. "They manipulate attention for profit and enable bad actors to manipulate some users in ways that harm them and others."

McNamee also told CNN's Christine Amanpour last year that Facebook is facing a crisis of public trust "that is going to destroy the company."

"They haven't even taken the first step of admitting there's a problem," he said. "If they don't do something pretty soon, people are going to realize they can't trust Facebook anymore."

He added that an erosion of trust could "threaten [Facebook] permanently."

McNamee has been extremely critical of how Facebook responded to accusations that it was susceptible to fake news and was manipulated by foreign governments — most notably Russia — to help sway voters in the 2016 presidential election.

"Any company that can influence a US presidential election without being aware that it is doing so is demonstrably too powerful," McNamee said to CNN in an email last year.

Elevation Partners no longer has a stake in Facebook, but McNamee still owns shares personally.

In an op-ed for Time earlier this year, he wrote: "I have never had a reason to bite Facebook's hand...My criticism of the company is a matter of principle, and owning shares is a good way to make that point."

McNamee will discuss all of this, along with his thoughts on Facebook's new cryptocurrency initiative and the broader outlook for tech stocks and IPOs, with Newton.

"Markets Now" streams live from the New York Stock Exchange every Wednesday at 12:45 pm ET. Hosted by CNN's business correspondents, the 15-minute program features incisive commentary from experts.

You can watch "Markets Now" at CNN.com/MarketsNow from your desk or on your phone or tablet. If you can't catch the show live, check out highlights online and through the Markets Now newsletter, delivered to your inbox every afternoon.

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