Facebook has been embroiled in a variety of privacy scandals back in 2018, with the biggest probably being the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which user information was accessed and misused. Apart from being grilled in front of Congress and suffering from a hit to their reputation, Facebook has managed to escape somewhat unscathed.
That might no longer be the case because according to a report from The Washington Post, US regulators are said to be considering levying a “record-setting” fine against the company for privacy violations. Exactly how much this fine would be is unclear, but it could possibly be the biggest yet and would be more than the $22.5 million fine the FTC had imposed on Google back in 2012.
Facebook and the FTC had previously come to an agreement that Facebook needs to notify its users and seek permission before sharing data with third-parties. The FTC also requires that Facebook notifies them whenever user data has been misused. It is understood that these are some of the conditions that Facebook needs to have violated in order for the FTC to levy a fine against them.
It is unclear when this fine will be levied or if Facebook might come to some kind of settlement with the FTC. This is partly due to the ongoing shutdown of the US government in which government agencies such as the FTC are affected.