Facebook fights to “shield Zuckerberg” from punishment in US privacy probe

[Karlston]

Facebook/FTC settlement could include "heightened oversight" of Zuckerberg.

Enlarge / Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaving the Merrion Hotel in Dublin after meeting with Irish politicians to discuss regulation of social media on Tuesday, April 2, 2019.

Getty Images | NurPhoto

Federal Trade Commission officials are discussing whether to hold Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally accountable for Facebook's privacy failures, according to reports by The Washington Post and NBC News. Facebook has been trying to protect Zuckerberg from that possibility in negotiations with the FTC, the Post wrote.

 

Federal regulators investigating Facebook are "exploring his past statements on privacy and weighing whether to seek new, heightened oversight of his leadership," the Post reported, citing anonymous sources who are familiar with the FTC discussions.

 

"The discussions about how to hold Zuckerberg accountable for Facebook's data lapses have come in the context of wide-ranging talks between the Federal Trade Commission and Facebook that could settle the government's more than year-old probe," the Post wrote.

 

According to NBC, FTC officials are "discussing whether and how to hold Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg personally accountable for the company's history of mismanaging users' private data." However, NBC said its sources "wouldn't elaborate on what measures are specifically under consideration."

 

According to the Post, one idea raised during the probe "could require [Zuckerberg] or other executives to certify the company's privacy practices periodically to the board of directors."

 

But it's not clear how likely the FTC is to target Zuckerberg in a final settlement, and "Facebook has fought fiercely to shield Zuckerberg as part of the negotiations, one of the sources familiar with the probe said," the Post wrote.

Facebook dismisses “recycled” storyline

When contacted by Ars, Facebook said, "These storylines have been recycled for some time." The company cited an April 2 Politico story as an example. But the Politico story was more speculative: it said the FTC could use its authority to seek "new, more aggressive privacy auditors; or even management changes, up to the level of Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg." And unlike the new Post and NBC stories, Politico's article merely discussed the FTC targeting Zuckerberg as a theoretical possibility and didn't assert that FTC investigators themselves are considering a punishment for Zuckerberg.

 

As for the FTC investigation, Facebook told Ars that it hopes "to reach an appropriate and fair resolution" with the commission.

 

The FTC reached a settlement with Facebook in 2011 over charges that it deceived users by failing to keep privacy promises. During the lead-up to that settlement, the FTC "considered, then backed down, from putting Zuckerberg directly under order," the Post wrote. "Had it done so, Zuckerberg could have faced fines for future privacy violations."

 

The FTC's current investigation began in March 2018, after revelations that up to 87 million users' information was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica. The FTC investigation focuses on whether Facebook violated the terms of its 2011 settlement with the FTC. That settlement prohibited Facebook from misrepresenting the privacy or security of user information, and it required Facebook to get consumers' express consent before making changes that override their privacy settings.

 

Republicans hold a 3-2 majority on the FTC. Democratic Commissioner Rohit Chopra wrote in a May 2018 memo that "the FTC should hold individual executives accountable for order violations in which they participated, even if these individuals were not named in the original orders."

 

Source: Facebook fights to “shield Zuckerberg” from punishment in US privacy probe (Ars Technica)

[mp68terr]

31 minutes ago, Karlston said:

Facebook has been trying to protect Zuckerberg...

Aren't FB and Zuckerberg the same entity?

[The AchieVer]

Facebook's privacy mishaps: Zuckerberg could be held accountable, report says

The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly looking into Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's past remarks about privacy.

 

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg may find himself in hot water with federal regulators.

 

The Federal Trade Commission is looking into how to hold Zuckerberg accountable for Facebook's privacy mishaps, The Washington Post reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. That includes examining Zuckerberg's past remarks about privacy. 

 

The FTC started investigating Facebook last year after revelations surfaced that UK political consultancy Cambridge Analytica harvested the data of up to 87 million Facebook users without their permission. The agency is focusing on whether the social network violated a legal agreement with the US government to keep Facebook users' data private.

 

The investigation is ongoing, but Facebook could also face a fine that's larger than the record-setting $22.5 million the FTC imposed on Google in 2012. 

 

In response to questions about the Post's report, a Facebook spokesperson said only that the company hopes "to reach an appropriate and fair resolution" with the FTC. The agency declined to comment. 

 

Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook's privacy and security issues have continued to pile up. This week, the company said millions of passwords for Facebook-owned Instagram were stored in a way that made it possible for its employees to read them. Facebook also said that it unintentionally harvested email contacts from 1.5 million users without their permission.

 

Zuckerberg vowed in March to build a "privacy-focused" social network and messaging platform.  

 

This isn't the first time the FTC has weighed whether to hold Zuckerberg personally accountable for the social network's privacy problems. FTC documents obtained by the Post through a public records request showed that the agency considered putting Zuckerberg under order during its last settlement with Facebook, in 2011, but that it decided not to. If the agency had done so, Zuckerberg could've been hit with fines for future privacy lapses. 

 

 

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[Karlston]

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