NEWS25 April 2019

Facebook expects FTC fine to be up to $5bn

Data analytics Financials News North America Privacy Social media

US – Facebook has set aside $3bn to cover the expected fine resulting from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s probe into its privacy practices.

The company estimates that the probable loss resulting from the FTC’s investigation “into our platform and user data practices” will be between $3bn and $5bn, according to its first quarter financial statement.

However, it noted that the matter has not yet been resolved and did not offer any timeframe regarding the final outcome.

Facebook’s revenue for the first quarter of 2019 was $15.1bn, a 26% year-on-year increase from the first quarter of 2018.

The social network also grew its monthly active users by 8% in the past year to 2.38 billion.

Chief executive and founder Mark Zuckerberg said: "We are focused on building out our privacy-focused vision for the future of social networking, and working collaboratively to address important issues around the internet."

In February, the Washington Post reported that Facebook and the FTC were negotiating over a potential ‘multibillion-dollar’ fine.

The agency has been investigating Facebook for over a year, since the Cambridge Analytica scandal emerged.