Facebook to be fined USD 5 Billion by Federal Trade Commission over Cambridge Analytica scandal

In 2018, it came to light that a little known British company named Cambridge Analytica had illegally harvested the data of over 87 million of Facebook users, without their consent, and used it to manipulate them for political reasons.

This happened not only in the USA, but in numerous other countries, some with questionable leadership.

Facebook was under fire for this major oversight, and for failing on an epic scale to protect data entrusted to them by its legions of users.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a fine to be paid by the social media giant, amounting to USD 5 Billion.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, FTC commissioners voted by 3-2 with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition to the penalty.

The US Department of Justice is currently reviewing the matter.

The FTC investigation was centered around establishing whether Facebook’s data sharing with Cambridge Analytica violated a 2011 consent agreement signed between Facebook and the regulator.

FTC and Facebook are yet to make official statements on the settlement. However, in April, Facebook had said it expected to pay the 5 Billion dollar fine in settlement fees.

This settlement, should it be approved, would be the largest levied on a tech company yet.

It however won’t make as much as a dent in Facebook’s overall finances, which in 2018 were estimated at 56 Billion USD.

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Several online media reports, as well as social media users have regarded the settlement as a joke.

Twitter user @davidcicilline said, “The FTC just gave Facebook a Christmas present five months early.”

Facebook has in the past been reckless with users’ data, and has repeatedly faced no severe consequences. As such, the USD 5 Billion is being regarded as just another slap on the wrist for the firm.