To encourage users to share information on its platform, Facebook promises users they can control the privacy of their information through Facebook’s privacy settings.įollowing a yearlong investigation by the FTC, the Department of Justice will file a complaint on behalf of the Commission alleging that Facebook repeatedly used deceptive disclosures and settings to undermine users’ privacy preferences in violation of its 2012 FTC order. Facebook monetizes user information through targeted advertising, which generated most of the company’s $55.8 billion in revenues in 2018. More than 185 million people in the United States and Canada use Facebook on a daily basis. “This settlement’s historic penalty and compliance terms will benefit American consumers, and the Department expects Facebook to treat its privacy obligations with the utmost seriousness.” “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting consumer data privacy and ensuring that social media companies like Facebook do not mislead individuals about the use of their personal information,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. The Commission takes consumer privacy seriously, and will enforce FTC orders to the fullest extent of the law.” The relief is designed not only to punish future violations but, more importantly, to change Facebook’s entire privacy culture to decrease the likelihood of continued violations. “The magnitude of the $5 billion penalty and sweeping conduct relief are unprecedented in the history of the FTC. “Despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers’ choices,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. The order requires Facebook to restructure its approach to privacy from the corporate board-level down, and establishes strong new mechanisms to ensure that Facebook executives are accountable for the decisions they make about privacy, and that those decisions are subject to meaningful oversight. The settlement order announced today also imposes unprecedented new restrictions on Facebook’s business operations and creates multiple channels of compliance. It is one of the largest penalties ever assessed by the U.S. The $5 billion penalty against Facebook is the largest ever imposed on any company for violating consumers’ privacy and almost 20 times greater than the largest privacy or data security penalty ever imposed worldwide. will pay a record-breaking $5 billion penalty, and submit to new restrictions and a modified corporate structure that will hold the company accountable for the decisions it makes about its users’ privacy, to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company violated a 2012 FTC order by deceiving users about their ability to control the privacy of their personal information. Eyler, Director of the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.įacebook, Inc. Participants included: FTC Chairman Joe Simons, FTC Commissioners Noah Joshua Phillips and Christine S. Watch archival video of the press conference. NOTE: The FTC hosted an IN-PERSON press conference at FTC Headquarters, 600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington D.C., on July 24, 2019. About the FTC Show/hide About the FTC menu items.

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Meta breach