HEFTY FINE

FTC Approves $5 Billion Settlement in Facebook Privacy Probe

The record-breaking fine would far exceed the $22.5 million fine Google paid in 2012.

The Federal Trade Commission voted to approve a settlement of about $5 billion with Facebook this week in its probe over the company’s data privacy issues, The Wall Street Journal reports. The commission reportedly approved the record-breaking settlement in a 3-2 vote, and “government restrictions” are expected to be included along with the penalty. Earlier this year, Facebook said it was expecting to pay up to $5 billion to settle the investigation—which started after reports that personal data was being utilized by U.K. firm Cambridge Analytica, which did work for the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. The FTC declined to comment, and Facebook declined to comment or confirm the settlement to The Daily Beast. The highest fine resulting in FTC violations was a $22.5 million penalty against Google in 2012.