According to Facebook, the investigation they face at the hands of the FTC isn’t only good, it’s welcome. « We remain strongly committed to protecting people’s information, » said Rob Sherman, Deputy Chief Privacy Officer for Facebook. « We appreciate the opportunity to answer questions the FTC may have. » The FTC
According to Facebook, the investigation they face at the hands of the FTC isn’t only good, it’s welcome. “We remain strongly committed to protecting people’s information,” said Rob Sherman, Deputy Chief Privacy Officer for Facebook. “We appreciate the opportunity to answer questions the FTC may have.” The FTC investigation into Facebook was confirmed by Tom Paul, Acting Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. The investigation itself is not open to the public.
Report of this FTC investigation included questions of “recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook.” It’s a bit strange that the FTC would miss anything this egregious – after all, they’re meant to enforce 20-years privacy audits in a Facebook case that took place in 2011. That’s 20 years of Facebook privacy audits, with the FTC, as punishment for “unfair and deceptive” business practices.
SEE MORE: Facebook FTC investigation confirmed: Huge fines possible
Facebook’s stock price fell dramatically earlier today as the FTC confirmed the investigation. However, the price of the stock recovered over the course of the day to pre-announcement levels. A large dip happened in at first bell today, then began a rebound at just after 11AM. At open, FB was $160.82 a share, and at the day’s close the stock landed at $160.12.
Facebook is currently in a bit of a tailspin with public opinion at the moment. Hashtag campaign Delete Facebook took the cake much of last week due to several truths that’d just come to light at once. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the company against accusations of shady business practices with regard to the group Cambridge Analytica.
Cambridge Analytica is under investigation by the United States Government for potentially illegal dealings in the 2016 Presidential Election in the United States. Cambridge Analytica apparently used data from Facebook’s 3rd-party API which, at the time, gave away massive amounts of data to whomever was there to look.
Stick around as we continue to watch these multiple investigations into companies who profit from our freely volunteered actions and otherwise private information. For more information on why I believe these companies should be paying you for the right to capture and use your data, have a peek at the article Facebook should be paying you.
