FTC Settlement with Facebook May Include Privacy Oversight

According to Politico, Facebook’s new settlement with the FTC may include the formation of an independent privacy oversight organization.

Politico reports that Facebook and the FTC are currently negotiating a settlement that could require Facebook to create an independent privacy oversight committee along with a number of other steps designed to safeguard user data. The agreement would reportedly see a federally-approved privacy official appointed at Facebook along with a privacy oversight committee which could include Facebook board members.

Facebook will still be paying out $3 billion to cover settlements with U.S. regulators over privacy issues. The FTC has been focusing its investigation on the Cambridge Analytica scandal which saw the personal data of 87 million users left vulnerable. The FTC has questioned whether this case violated a 2011 agreement between the social media site and the FTC in which Facebook promised to safeguard user privacy.

If an agreement is reached between the FTC and Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg will become the company’s “designated compliance officer” and will be responsible for ensuring that the company’s privacy policies are enacted.

During Facebook’s F8 developers’ conference this week, the issue of user privacy seemed to loom over the event as Facebook announced even more invasive features and joked about the sites numerous data scandals. During a keynote speech at the event, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg joked about the company’s numerous privacy scandals with no one in the room appearing to laugh.

“I believe that the future is private,” Zuckerberg said, according to Business Insider. “As the world gets bigger and more connected, we need that sense of intimacy more than ever.” The CEO continued to say: “I get that a lot of people aren’t sure that we are serious about this. I know that we don’t exactly have the strongest reputation for privacy right now, to put it lightly.” The joke fell flat with little laughter across the auditorium.

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