The regulatory pressure on Facebook rose another notch yesterday as the US Federal Trade Commission confirmed it had opened an investigation into the company’s privacy practices after the scandal in which the data of 50m users was misused.
Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said it took “very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook” and warned the agency would take action against companies “that fail to honour their privacy promises”. The investigation could result in fines for Facebook, which signed a consent order in 2011 with the FTC that required it to be clear with users about how their data were being shared with third parties.
If the company is found to have broken the order, it could face fines of up to $40,000 per violation per day. David Vladeck, a former FTC director who oversaw the agreement in 2011, has said each affected user could be counted as an individual violation.