FTC could reportedly to charge Facebook with a $5 billion fine over privacy violation. It will be the largest fined that that has been ever charge to a technology company.
Multiple news reports on Friday said the FTC has voted to fine Facebook for privacy violations and mishandling user data. Most of them cited an unnamed person familiar with the matter.
Facebook and the FTC declined to comment. The 3-2 vote broke along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition to the settlement, according to the reports.
The case now moves to the Justice Department’s civil division for review. It’s unclear how long the process would take, though it is likely to be approved.
Facebook has earmarked $3 billion for a potential fine and said in April it was anticipating having to pay up to $5 billion.
The fine, however, doesn’t spell the end of Facebook’s troubles. The company faces a slew of other investigations, both in the U.S. and overseas, that could carry their own fines and, more importantly possible limits to its data collection.
This includes nearly a dozen by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, which oversees privacy regulation in the European Union.
