On June 24, the Federal Trade Commission imposed a $5 billion penalty on Facebook, marking the largest penalty ever imposed on a U.S. company for consumer privacy violations. The settlement also includes other restrictions on Facebook, including requiring the company to reduce Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s control over consumer privacy decisions by establishing an independent privacy committee and strengthening external oversight of the company. The order also requires Facebook to monitor external apps more carefully. The agency’s two Democratic members voted against the settlement agreement. The settlement came the same day as the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a $100 million settlement with Facebook for misuse of user data. Read more about the FTC’s settlement here and the SEC’s settlement here.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
