Facebook Inc. on Wednesday agreed to pay $5 billion settlement over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the largest privacy or data security penalty ever imposed worldwide, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday. Additionally, the social media giant is obligated to enhance its data protection practices.
Facebook said that the agreement will require a "fundamental shift" in the way its business is being run and that it includes more stringent processes to identify privacy risks. Under the agreement, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will have to certify new privacy policies, and will be subject to civil and criminal penalties for false certifications. One of the orders requires Facebook to report to the FTC incidents where data of 500 or more users have been compromised, along with the company's efforts to address the problems and to deliver the documentation on these issues within 30 days.
The company also announced it has resolved an ongoing investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which also imposed policy changes and an additional, $100 million fine.
