Skip to Content
Silicon Valley

Facebook is set to pay a multibillion-dollar fine to settle a US privacy probe

February 15, 2019

The fine is likely to be the largest the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  has ever imposed on a technology company.

The fine: Facebook will pay the multibillion-dollar fine to settle an FTC investigation into its privacy practices, according to the Washington Post. The final sum is yet to be negotiated, but it will certainly dwarf a $22.5 million settlement with Google in 2012.

If talks break down, it could end in a bruising legal battle in court—and more negative headlines for Facebook. The FTC could also force Facebook to change its business practices as part of the settlement.

The probe: It began in March 2018 in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the company improperly accessed data on 87 million Facebook users. The FTC is investigating whether Facebook’s behavior, plus various damaging revelations since, amounts to a violation of an agreement it reached with the agency in 2011 to improve its privacy practices.

Battles on many fronts: Facebook is currently contesting a fine of £500,000 ($641,000) imposed by the UK’s data protection watchdog in October 2018, insisting that no UK data was involved. It’s also fighting a lawsuit filed by the attorney general of the District of Columbia, which claims it misled users over data collection. Other investigations are under way in various US states.

Sign up here to our daily newsletter The Download to get your dose of the latest must-read news from the world of emerging tech.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI

The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models. 

Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist

An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.

The Biggest Questions: What is death?

New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.

Data analytics reveal real business value

Sophisticated analytics tools mine insights from data, optimizing operational processes across the enterprise.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.