Facebook must pay $5bn to settle fears over privacy

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has formally fined Facebook $5 billion (£4bn) for privacy violations and enforced strict new oversight rules.

The agency opened an investigation into the social network last year after the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

As part of the settlement, the FTC said Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg will have to personally certify the company’s compliance with privacy measures and the company must submit quarterly privacy reviews to show its measures are working.

Failure to comply with the new measures could see Mr Zuckerberg face civil or criminal penalties, the FTC said.

It is part of what the FTC called “unprecedented new restrictions on Facebook’s business operations”, which will create “multiple channels of compliance” that will ensure company executives are accountable for privacy decisions. The fine is the largest imposed on a company for violating consumer privacy, the FTC said. FTC chairman Joe Simons said: “Despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers’ choices.

“The magnitude of the $5bn penalty and sweeping conduct relief are unprecedented in the history of the FTC. The relief is designed not only to punish future violations but, more importantly, to change Facebook’s entire privacy culture.”