FTC to impose record fine on Facebook for privacy violations

The American market watchdog FTC is reportedly going to impose a ‘record fine’ on Facebook. This in the context of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The exact amount has not yet been determined.

According to The Washington Post, the fine would be a record for the FTC. It could be higher than the $22.5 million Google had to pay in 2012. However, that fine was a fraction of the profit that Google made in a year, and the same may apply to this fine for Facebook. For example, the social media giant made more than $5 billion in profits in the third quarter of 2018.

The justification for the fine would be violating an agreement with the government in which it promised to protect user data. That in response to eight other privacy violations in the past, such as making friends lists public without notifying users or asking for permission.

The FTC would follow the example of the British privacy watchdog ICO with the fine. In October of last year, he imposed a fine of 565,000 euros on Facebook. That was the highest amount within the power of the organization. An official announcement of the fine should follow “soon”, according to the anonymous sources.

The main reason for the fine is the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which user data of 87 million Americans was used without permission to show targeted campaign ads to Americans.