The Federal Trade Commission is looking at what could be record-setting fines against Facebook, according to the Washington Post. It has to do with the binding agreement the social media company signed in 2011 to protect personal data. The fine would be for violating that agreement.
The biggest fine to date for violating an FTC privacy policy went to Google in 2012. That amounted to $22.5 million.
“The key question for the FTC is whether Facebook’s business practices — and the protections and privacy controls it afforded consumers — violated requirements spelled out in a consent decree brokered by the agency the last time it accused the tech giant of deceiving its users. Only through such a finding could the FTC levy a fine.” — Washington Post
The Agreement requires notification from Facebook to its users, including getting their permission, before sharing data with third-party companies that are materially different from Facebook’s privacy settings. That means not opt-out, but requiring an opt-in consent.
87 million people had personal information accessed by Cambridge Analytica during the run-up to the last Presidential election, which Facebook admits was improper.