FTC Will Investigate Facebook's Data Privacy Scandal
The Facebook "like" symbol is on display on a sign outside the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP File Photo
The government agency is stepping in.
When reports first surfaced of Facebook's massive data compromise, wherein the tech company allowed Cambridge Analytica to obtain extensive personal information for about 50 million Facebook users without their permission, it seemed likely that the Federal Trade Commission would step in, Engadget reports.
Today the FTC confirmed those suspicions and released a statement announcing plans to investigate Facebook's privacy practices.
"The FTC is firmly and fully committed to using all of its tools to protect the privacy of consumers," Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook. Today, the FTC is confirming that it has an open non-public investigation into these practices."
It remains to be seen what actions the FTC will impose on Facebook, and if that will include a fine.
This isn't the only federal connection to the scandal. Cambridge Analytica's partner company Strategic Communications Laboratories currently has a State Department contract, reports Defense One.