According to a new report from WSJ, U. S regulators have met to discuss imposing a record-setting fine against Facebook for violating a legally binding agreement with the government to protect the privacy of its users’ personal data. The fine under consideration at the Federal Trade Commission would mark the first action levied against Facebook in the United States since reports emerged in March about the Cambridge Analytica.
The penalty is expected to be much larger than the $22.5 million fine the agency imposed on Google in 2012. The FTC’s exact findings in its Facebook investigation and the total amount of the fine, which the agency’s five commissioners have discussed at a private meeting in recent weeks, have not been finalized. The staff has briefed the commissioners about their probe, according to sources, and plan to issue a formal recommendation for a fine soon. Furthermore, it is also reported that Facebook has talked with FTC staffers about the investigation, but it is unclear whether the company would settle with the FTC by accepting a significant financial penalty.
The agreement requires Facebook to notify users, and seek their permission before data is shared with third parties in a way that differs from existing privacy settings. It also requires the tech giant to tell the FTC in cases where others misuse that information. It prohibits Facebook from making deceptive statements about its privacy practices and institutes outside checkups on the way it uses data. As said, the penalty would mark the toughest punishment to date levied on Facebook for mishandling its users’ data. Regulators in the United Kingdom assessed a roughly $640,000 fine that Facebook is appealing.