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Facebook Expects to Be Hit With Up to $5 Billion FTC Fine

“We estimate that the range of loss in this matter is $3.0 billion to $5.0 billion,” the company said.

Facebook expects to be fined up to $5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission. The social network said it was putting aside billions of dollars to absorb the fine’s blow, with the company stating in an earnings report that “the range of loss in this matter is $3.0 billion to $5.0 billion.” The company also reported that its net income for the first three months of 2019 was $2.4 billion, a 51 percent decline in profit compared to the same period last year. Facebook said the figure included $3 billion in legal fees it had to shell out in the ongoing FTC probe into the company’s data practices. “We reasonably estimated a probable loss and recorded an accrual of $3.0 billion in connection with the inquiry of the FTC into our platform and user data practices,” the company stated. The company is reportedly in talks with the FTC after multiple reports shed light on Facebook’s questionable data privacy practices.

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FTC May Hold Zuckerberg Accountable for Privacy Issues

Julia Arciga