Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission have officially reached a settlement agreement over a nearly 18-month investigation into the social media giant's practice of sharing user data with third parties without their consent.
The settlement, which had been previously reported and expected, was announced Wednesday morning. Facebook will pay a $5 billion fine to the government ー the largest privacy-related fine and largest fine of a tech company ever, by an order of magnitude. The company will also agree to have CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally "certify" every quarter that Facebook is in compliance with new privacy provisions imposed by the FTC. Facebook will create a new committee as part of its board to oversee those compliance efforts. If Zuckerberg gave false certifications, he could be subject to criminal and civil penalties, according to the FTC's statement.
Facebook does not admit guilt to any missteps as part of the deal.
In a statement, Facebook General Counsel Colin Stretch said the agreement presents a "sharper turn toward privacy, on a different scale than anything we’ve done in the past.” The company also announced a separate, far smaller, settlement with the SEC over a different investigation into its handling of user data. That settlement included a $100 million fine.
For Facebook ($FB) ー which saw its shares go up after the first reports of the record penalty ー it remains unclear how, or if, the settlement will substantively change its business model, which relies mainly on serving advertisements based on the mountains of data it collects from its 2+ billion users.
In a sign of Facebook's scale and intertwining services, the settlement comes the same week as a new report found that the company discovered a bug in its Messenger Kids platform that allowed strangers to add young children to group messages without their parents' knowledge. Facebook publicly disclosed that bug only when contacted by The Verge.
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
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A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
