Facebook is in alive negotiation to decide the Federal Trade Commission ’s investigating into the society ’s privacy failures , allot toa new Washington Post story , talks that could leave in a multi - billion dollar mulct or a heavyweight court battle . The report did n’t include an exact image and said that bring on an amount is the focus of the talks .
The dialogue have had a tumultuous first , but could lead to an agreement between the company and the government over a fine , business modification , and steady check ups , accord to the Post . Any agreement would have to be sanction by a justice . If negotiations go poorly , that too would go to a Union judge and could lead to Facebook executives on the witness stand — an outcome the company will want to ward off .
The FTC investigating stems from the uproar after it was revealed last twelvemonth that political consulting house Cambridge Analytica accessed the personal data of 87 million Facebook ’s users without explicit license . The interrogation at script is if this and other lapses represent a violation of deal known as a “ consent decree ” Facebook made with the FTC in 2011 to well protect the privateness of its users .
That deal was multifaceted and included an “ affirmative express consent ” correspondence and a hope from Facebook that it would avert “ misrepresentations about the concealment or security of consumers ’ personal information . ” investigator may conceive that by allowing an organization like Cambridge Analytica to get at users ’ personal information without noesis or express consent , Facebook violated the accord .
“ This episode has understandably hurt us , ” Facebook CEO Zuckerberg told Congress last year , referring to the Cambridge Analytica scandal . “ We have to do a lot of workplace about building trustfulness back . ”
What Zuckerberg does not have in mind , however , is paying a potentially record - break amercement from the FTC . No exact number has been landed on yet , and the Washington Post report that the caller is fighting back against the agency ’s initial demands .
Facebook and the FTC did not straight off respond to requests for gossip .
The FTC could slap Facebook with amercement of up to $ 40,000 per infringement of the consent decree . If fined for every Facebook exploiter , the number would would total billion of dollars and is consider outside the realm of opening . The Post does report that the mulct will likely pound a $ 22.5 million punishment from the FTCagainst Google in 2012 .
The reported negotiations find asFacebook is engaged in a charter fling in Washington . The societal media giant is tap Capitol Hill , civic society , and even the FTC itself for personnel department . For illustration , Facebook latterly hired Melinda Claybaugh , who bring at the FTC for more than a decade before she became Privacy Policy Director in the company ’s Washington , D.C. office .
Since Zuckerberg last testified in front of Congress , Facebook has faced a grow lean of problems , admit aGizmodo investigationinto how Facebook hands out user contact information to advertisers , a dodging to make up teenagersto supervise their phones , misinformationon WhatsApp , and thebiggest datum go against in its chronicle . The lean goes on .
Meanwhile , a seclusion tool foretell by the ship’s company after the Cambridge Analytica scandal is stillnowhere in sight .
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