Facebook, FTC discussing ‘multibillion dollar’ fine

WASHINGTON: The US government and Facebook Inc are negotiating a settlement over the company’s privacy lapses that could require the online social network to pay a multibillion-dollar fine, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. The newspaper said that the US Federal Trade Commission and Facebook had not agreed on an amount, citing two people it said were familiar with the matter.Facebook reported fourth-quarter revenue of $16.9 billion and profit of $6.9 billion.
Since March last year, the FTC has been investigating revelations that Facebook inappropriately shared information belonging to 87 million of its users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.
The probe has focused on whether the sharing of data with Cambridge Analytica & other privacy disputes violated a 2011 agreement with the FTC to safeguard users’ privacy. An eventual settlement may also mandate changes in how Facebook does business.
Facebook declined to comment directly. “We have been working with the FTC and will continue to work with the FTC,” a spokeswoman said. The FTC declined comment. The biggest FTC fine for a privacy lapse was $22.5 million levied on Google.