Facebook’s feud with FTC could result in hefty fines that could paralyze the tech giant. According to the Washington post, the two parties are still in talks. The both are looking into an amount more in line with the FTC’s massive $14.7 billion settlement with Volkswagen over emissions cheating in 2016.
When contacted about the state of talks with the FTC, Facebook repeated a prior statement on regulatory compliance. “We are cooperating with officials in the US, UK, and beyond,” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We’ve provided public testimony, answered questions, and pledged to continue our assistance as their work continues.”
Assuming the FTC holds its ground in negotiations over a record-blowing fine against Facebook, the company is likely to push back hard in court, putting its vast financial resources to the work of insulating it from meaningful penalties both in the present and future. Whether the multi-billion-dollar fine materializes or not, the hefty sum would be a major symbol of Facebook’s recent privacy transgressions and the process would likely hold Facebook to account with some transparency and reporting measures that could be bruising, even if it didn’t pay up.
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, its principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anti-competitive business practices.