Facebook Fined $5 billion Over Privacy Violations

[engine]

It's been confirmed that Facebook is fined by the U.S. F.T.C. (Federal Trade Commission) a record penalty of $5 billion over privacy violations. The previous record fine was $275 million over Equifax data breach.

It'll also "submit to new restrictions and a modified corporate structure that will hold the company accountable for the decisions it makes about its users’ privacy, to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company violated a 2012 FTC order by deceiving users about their ability to control the privacy of their personal information."

“Despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers’ choices,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. “The magnitude of the $5 billion penalty and sweeping conduct relief are unprecedented in the history of the FTC. The relief is designed not only to punish future violations but, more importantly, to change Facebook’s entire privacy culture to decrease the likelihood of continued violations. The Commission takes consumer privacy seriously, and will enforce FTC orders to the fullest extent of the law.”

[ftc.gov...]

Earlier
Facebook to Be Fined $5 Billion (Cambridge Analytica) [webmasterworld.com]

F.T.C. Probe into Facebook Privacy Might Require External Assessor [webmasterworld.com]

Previously
Report: U.S. Federal Regulators Investigate Mark Zuckerberg over Privacy Statements [webmasterworld.com]
Facebook Stored Millions of Unencrypted Passwords [webmasterworld.com]
Facebook Receives Criticism Over Phone Number "Look-Up" [webmasterworld.com]
Report: F.T.C. and Facebook Negotiating Multi-Billion Dollar Fine Over its Privacy Practices [webmasterworld.com]
Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram Data Unification Stopped in Germany [webmasterworld.com]
Facebook Comes Under Fire Again For Use of Access to User Data [webmasterworld.com]
Facebook Appeals £500,000 UK Regulator Fine Over Cambridge Analytica [webmasterworld.com]

[RhinoFish]

"the company violated a 2012 FTC order by deceiving users about their ability to control the privacy of their personal information."
WILLFUL, INTENTIONAL, REPEATED VIOLATIONS of the YEARS earlier FTC AGREEMENT... did anyone at FB even lose their job?
Hilarious joke on all of us paying the FTC salaries.
7 years from now, they'll be saying "round #3, we're imposing serious new rules on FB, some steep fines too, Zuck will have to buy a smaller Mars yacht rocket than he hoped, and, your privacy no longer exists, sorry", ha!

"The Commission takes consumer privacy seriously, and will enforce FTC orders to the fullest extent of the law."
Umm, they said that last time too.
You got them to sign an agreement, the second time is not a question of just the fullest extent of the law, and the FTC knows this.
If you're going to sign weak ass enforcement agreements, then I'm hurling it at you.

[JS_Harris]

The stock price rose. Investors were worried the penalty would be 10 Billion and force Facebook to modify practices which it didn't. Slap on the wrist for a company that made 80 Billion last year and clearly not harsh enough.

I cartainly won't own a Facebook account anytime soon, if ever so long a Zucker is in charge.

[IanCP]

Facebook Fined $5 billion Over Privacy Violations

When will they get around to fining these mega-corporations a significant fraction of shareholders funds? Capacity to pay.

That will certainly get everyone's attention.

[Dimitri]

Facebook’s latest profits show FTC fine is a blip

The social network said its second-quarter revenue, which is driven by advertising, grew by 28 percent to $16.9 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $16.49 billion. Net profit fell 49 percent from the same period a year earlier to $2.6 billion, dragged down by the FTC penalty.

[beta.washingtonpost.com...]