Facebook To Pay Over $5 Billion To Settle Federal Data Breach Charges

Facebook agreed to pay a $5 billion fine to the FTC and the DOJ to settle claims that the company engaged in deceptive business practices by failing to abide by a 2012 settlement order requiring it to give notice to customers before sharing information with third parties. The FTC and DOJ alleged that Facebook violated the prior order by failing to maintain an adequate data protection program to prevent developers from accessing customers' personal information.

According to regulators, developer Aleksandr Kogan and former CEO Alexander Nix of Cambridge Analytica, LLC ("Cambridge Analytica") used misleading tactics to procure "tens of millions" of Facebook users' personal information collected through the "GSRApp" application on Facebook commonly known as "thisisyourdigitallife." While Cambridge Analytica ostensibly obtained permission from users to harvest their data, the FTC said, its methods for doing so were "false and deceptive."