The United States has imposed a $6.8 billion penalty on Facebook for its Cambridge Analytica data scandal. However, the fine which was pronounced by the Federal Trade Commission(FTC) on Friday this week has to get approval from the Justice of Department before it gets finalized.
Cybersecurity Insiders has learned that the penalty was levied after it gained a vote approval with a 3-2 vote, despite disapproval from the two Democratic Members of the consumer protection agency.
This news which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal is yet to get an official endorsement from the data watchdog. But the developments are pointing out a fact that the world’s number one social networking giant will from now on be harshly restricted from accessing personal data of its users.
Facebook which earned revenue of almost $56 billion last year is reported to have set aside almost USD 3 billion to anticipate the penalty imposed by the FTC. If done, the settlement could be the largest privacy in the FTC’s history.
Hope Mark Zuckerberg’s company learns a lesson from the latest penalty!
Note 1- Till date, the biggest fine imposed by the Fed against a technology company was $22 million imposed on Google in 2012.
Note 2- Facebook’s $6.8 billion penalties will also represent one of the harshest punishments imposed by Trump Administration in recent times which indicated that President Donald Trump will no longer entertain laxity from technology companies while dealing with user data.
