The fine would mark its biggest against a tech company
The Federal Trade Commission has approved a $5 billion settlement with Facebook to end a probe into the company’s privacy practices that began after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revelations early last year, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The agreement came down to a 3-2 vote that split along party lines with the three Republican commissioners backing the motion and the two Democrats holding out for tighter regulations, according to the Journal. The agreement is expected to also include restrictions on Facebook’s data collection policies.
If approved by the Justice Department—a process that rarely results in changes to the decision—the fine would mark by far the FTC’s biggest penalty ever imposed on a tech company. The previous record was set in 2012 when Google paid to $22.5 million over its own privacy violations.
Spokespeople for Facebook and the FTC both declined to comment on the report.
Patrick Kulp – Ad Week – July 12, 2019.
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