Two top Senate lawmakers on Monday expressed frustration with a federal probe into Facebook’s privacy practices, urging the government to move more swiftly and consider imposing tough punishments that target the company’s top executives.
The message — delivered by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley — reflects the mounting political pressure on the Federal Trade Commission to deliver a strong rebuke of the tech giant while sending a message to the rest of Silicon Valley that Washington has started taking privacy violations more seriously.
Specifically, Blumenthal and Hawley contend that a fine ranging into billions of dollars would be a “bargain” for a company as large as Facebook, which recorded $15 billion in revenue last quarter. The tech giant last month said it expects a fine as high as $5 billion, confirming earlier reports from the Post that the FTC could require Facebook to pay a record-breaking financial penalty to settle the probe.
Blumenthal and Hawley instead urged the commission to limit Facebook’s data collection, including requirements that restrict the kind of information it collects for advertising. They further called for accountability targeting individual executives if the commission determines “any Facebook executive knowingly broke the law” or its pledge to improve its privacy practices, a commitment it made to end another FTC probe in 2011.
Lawmakers including Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden similarly have urged the FTC to target Zuckerberg specifically as a result of its ongoing investigation. But the FTC is unlikely to put Zuckerberg under order, a move that could undermine settlement talks and force the two sides to court, according to two people familiar with the probe who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are supposed to be confidential.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Perspectives: Facebook's new plan doesn't protect your privacy, and neither does the FTCThe FTC can prohibit Facebook from particular types of data collection, unwind the WhatsApp and Instagram mergers as illegal under the Clayton Act, and prohibit Facebook from acquiring competitive threats going forward, writes Sally Hubbard, director of strategic enforcement at the Open Markets Institute.
Read more »
U.S. lawmakers criticize potential Facebook settlement with FTCTwo U.S. senators on Monday criticized reported plans for a Federal Trade Commis...
Read more »
Facebook's potential settlement with FTC will likely include WhatsApp: WSJFacebook Inc's potential settlement with federal regulators over breaches o...
Read more »
Pepsi withdraws Indian potato farmer lawsuits after political pressurePepsiCo Inc has agreed to withdraw lawsuits against Indian potato farmers it all...
Read more »
How Russia Uses Facebook To Lure Americans To Political RalliesHow Russia uses Facebook to lure Americans to political rallies
Read more »
Facebook building cryptocurrency system - WSJ - Reuters TVFacebook is attempting to dive deeper into its users lives by planning a digital coin payments system to use on its site and other e-commerce platforms across the Web.
Read more »
Facebook Building Cryptocurrency-Based Payments SystemFacebook is recruiting dozens of financial firms and online merchants to help launch a cryptocurrency-based payments system on the back of its social network.
Read more »
Justice Department Warns Against Broad Penalty for Qualcomm in FTC CaseThe Justice Department waded into the FTC’s case against smartphone chip maker Qualcomm, seeking to limit the effects on next-generation cellular technology if a judge rules against the company.
Read more »