The US Federal Trade Commission has confirmed it's launched an investigation into privacy practices at Facebook. In a short statement, the FTC's acting director of consumer protection, Tom Pahl said the regulator takes "very seriously" the recent press reports about Facebook's handing of user data.
Parl said the investigation would be "non-public", but his statement suggested some of the areas the FTC may be investigating. These include compliance with the Privacy Shield, the US's agreement with the European Union on protecting personal information transferred from the EU to the US, and taking action against any "unfair acts that cause substantial injury to consumers in violation of the FTC Act". The FTC is the main watchdog for consumer protection in the US.
Furthermore, Pahl noted that "companies who have settled previous FTC actions must also comply with FTC order provisions imposing privacy and data security requirements". This likely refers to Facebook's agreement in 2001 with the FTC to improve its privacy practices and inform users better about how it collects and uses personal data, particularly via third-party apps on the social network. Under the 20-year agreement, the FTC can fine Facebook if it finds the company did not live up to its promises.
Government interest
The FTC adds to investigations already underway by the UK's data protection regulator ICO and several national governments looking at Facebook's role in spreading political news, such as Germany and Italy. The company has also been summoned to explain itself at the UK Parliament and in the US Congress.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee summoned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify personally at a hearing planned for the near future on "harvesting and sale of personal information from more than 50 million Facebook users, potentially without their notice or consent and in violation of Facebook policy".
The Senate Judiciary Committee also announced a hearing on data privacy for 10 April. Chairman Chuck Grassley invited Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify at the hearing to discuss Facebook’s past and future policies regarding the protection and monitoring of consumer data. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey also were invited to discuss the future of data privacy in the social media industry.
