Facebook Settles FTC Charges That It Deceived Consumers, Agrees To 20 Year Consent Order

In a settlement announced today by the Federal Trade Commission and Facebook, the social networking service agreed to settle "charges that it deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public," according to the FTC's press release.

In its complaint, the FTC alleged, among other things, that Facebook "users could not restrict access to their profile information to specific groups, such as "Only Friends" or "Friends of Friends" through their Profile Privacy Settings," despite Facebook's representations that users could impose such restrictions on their accounts.

In the extensive consent order Facebook entered with the FTC, Facebook agreed (among other things) to "obtain initial and biennial assessments and reports . . . from a qualified, objective, independent third-party professional, who uses procedures and standards generally accepted in the profession,"