The top U.S. privacy regulator ordered some of the biggest technology companies, including Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google's YouTube, to hand over information about how they collect and use information from users.

The Federal Trade Commission said Monday it is issuing sweeping demands for information to the companies, saying their use of consumer data is ?shrouded in secrecy.?

The move intensifies the U.S. government's scrutiny of the tech industry's business practices. The FTC last week sued Facebook for alleged violations of antitrust laws, a case that came on the heels of a Justice Department complaint against Google. The FTC is also reviewing past acquisitions of startups by tech giants.

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