$2tn fine looms for Facebook after data breaches
Social media site operator Facebook could be facing a multi-trillion dollar fine on the back of an investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) into the tech giant’s role in the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
Both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have come under intense scrutiny from both the public and regulators after a whistleblower claimed the firms colluded over collecting and sharing data belonging to more than 50 million members of the public.
Facebook has already seen almost $100 billion wiped from its stock market presence thanks to waning trust amid users and investors, but could face a penalty of up to $2 trillion depending on the outcome of the FTC’s investigation.
The US regulator’s investigation will examine whether Facebook’s privacy practices and data protection measures are sufficient. In particularly, the FTC wants to determine whether Facebook committed any “unfair acts that cause substantial injury to consumers” when it shared data with Cambridge Analytica which was then - reportedly - used to inform political campaigns.
If the FTC finds Facebook breached a consent declaration it made to the body in 2011, then it will be liable to pay fines of $40,000 for each violation.
“The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook,” said Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection.
The social media site has responded by saying it remains “strongly committed” to protecting its users’ data and that it “appreciates the opportunity” to willingly take part in the investigation.
Facebook is under similar scrutiny in the UK, after the Government’s Digital Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has summoned CEO Mark Zuckerberg to give evidence in person when it questions Cambridge Analytica whistleblowers in April.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has also launched its own investigation into how the data of UK users may have been used unlawfully.
