You may have already heard that the Federal Trade Commission has imposed a $5 billion dollar fine on Facebook for violating user privacy. It’s the largest fine ever imposed on a company for failing to protect user privacy. The fine comes from Facebook’s failure to comply with the rules of a 2012 settlement with the government.
In addition to paying the fine, the company has been ordered to make changes to the way it handles user data. Facebook will be required to pay more attention to how third-party apps use your data and must terminate any app developers that can’t prove they are following Facebook’s privacy policy or can’t show why they need the data they request.
Facebook can’t use the phone number you provide for two-factor authentication to target ads to you.
Facebook must let users know when facial recognition is being used and get their explicit consent.
Facebook must establish, implement, and maintain a comprehensive data security program.
Facebook will be required to encrypt user passwords and periodically scan to make sure none of the passwords are stored in plain text.
Facebook is prohibited from asking for email passwords to other services when consumers sign up for its services.
As a user, you probably won’t notice these changes at all, though you may have to give permission for facial recognition.
FTC punted. This is a slap on the wrist for Facebook and an insult to users/consumers. $5 Billion sounds like a crippling fine… but it represents a very small fraction of Facebook’s total annual revenue. I logged off Facebook on December 31st 2018, uninstalled all Facebook services from my phone… and I haven’t missed it at all. On December 31st 2019, I will delete all my data and close the account. There IS life without Zuck snooping around every corner of our lives and selling that information to the highest bidder.