Facebook and the U.S. government are negotiating over Facebook’s privacy issues

Facebook has been in news for its data breaches and its data sharing practices since quite some time now. Last month, advocacy groups such as Open Market Institute, Color of Change, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center among others, wrote to the Federal Trade Commission, requesting the government to intervene into how Facebook operates.

The letter included a list of actions that the FTC could take which including the multibillion-dollar fine and changing the company’s hiring practices.

The advocacy group wrote the FTC, “The record of repeated violations of the consent order can no longer be ignored. The company’s (Facebook’s) business practices have imposed enormous costs on the privacy and security of Americans, children, and communities of color, and the health of democratic institutions in the United States and around the world.”

According to today’s report by Washington Post, the U.S. government and Facebook are negotiating a settlement over Facebook’s privacy issues that could require the company to pay a multibillion-dollar fine.

FTC has been investigating on the revelations on Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal. The investigation is based on whether the sharing of data with Cambridge Analytica and other privacy disputes violated a 2011 agreement with the FTC. According to the Washington Post, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Facebook haven’t yet agreed on the amount.

Facebook has reported $16.9 billion as its fourth-quarter revenue and a profit of $6.9 billion. An eventual settlement might also incorporate a few changes in how Facebook does business.

Currently, Facebook has declined to comment as per the Washington Post report. Facebook’s spokeswoman said, “We have been working with the FTC and will continue to work with the FTC.”

To know more about this news, check out the official report by Washington Post.

Advocacy groups push FTC to fine Facebook and break it up for repeatedly violating the consent order and unfair business practices

Facebook hires top EEF lawyer and Facebook critic as Whatsapp privacy policy manager

Facebook pays users $20/month to install a ‘Facebook Research’ VPN that spies on their phone and web activities, TechCrunch reports

Facebook and the U.S. government are negotiating over Facebook’s privacy issues

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