Facebook's woes continue as FTC, AGs increase pressure
NEW YORK — U.S. regulators and state attorneys general are increasing pressure on Facebook as they probe whether the company’s data-collection practices have hurt the people who use its services.
Facebook’s stock, which already took a big hit last week, plunged further yesterday after the Federal Trade Commission confirmed news reports that it was investigating. Separately, the attorneys general for 37 U.S. states and territories sought details yesterday on how Facebook monitored what app developers did with data collected on Facebook users and whether Facebook had safeguards to prevent misuse.
Facebook’s privacy practices have come under fire after revelations that a Trump-affiliated consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, got data on millions of Facebook users. That included information on friends of people who had downloaded a psychological quiz app, even though those friends hadn’t given explicit consent to sharing.
Facebook is also facing questions about reports that it collected years of contact names, telephone numbers, call lengths and information about text messages from Android users. Facebook says the data is used “to improve people’s experience across Facebook” by helping to connect with others. But the company did not spell out exactly what it used the data for or why it needed it.
Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the U.S. probe would include whether the company engaged in “unfair acts” that cause “substantial injury” to consumers. Facebook reached a settlement with the FTC in 2011 offering privacy assurances, though the FTC’s probe may extend to Facebook’s compliance with U.S.-EU principles for transferring data.
Facebook said in a statement yesterday that the company remains “strongly committed” to protecting people’s information and that it welcomes the opportunity to answer the FTC’s questions.