Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), Mark Zuckerberg, said the company is prioritizing the implementation of a new privacy program. Facebook agreed to implement a new privacy program as part of the $5 billion settlement accord with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in July 2019.
Facebook violates 2011 accord
FTC is probing Facebook for violation of the 2011 agreement since March 2018. Facebook is under scanner on revelations that Cambridge Analytica, the political consulting firm, has accessed 87 million users’ data without their consent. According to the 2011 agreement, Facebook has to take permission from users before it shares its data with third-parties.
When Facebook asks a question – ‘who do you want to see your data’ for several years. You will tell Facebook that only friends can see your data. However, Facebook has shared your data with several third-party companies and apps apart from your friends. The 2012 order of FTC intends to prevent this type of misleading conduct. However, Facebook has violated this order in the past and now several times. Mark assured the users in 2014 that it will stop sharing the data of users. However, Cambridge Analytica accessed the data of users for over a year after Mark’s assurance publicly.
Mark has agreed that Facebook committed mistakes in the past. People will have a lot of concern about their privacy and in sharing the data. The company needs to do a lot to win the trust of users. It will put in place a new privacy program that sets a new standard in the industry over a while.
Facebook assigns Michell Protti for the privacy program
Facebook has entrusted the responsibility of a new privacy program to Michell Protti, its long-time executive, in July 2019. Michell will submit the quarterly compliance reports to FTC. According to Mark, over 1,000 people will work on the new privacy program.
Vice President (Global Affairs and Communications) of Facebook, Nick Clegg, on Friday appeared on the CNBC to defend its decision to accept and post the content of Politicians without checking the facts. Clegg said Facebook is a private company and has no role to step in as an adjudicator or a referee or an umpire to decide what politicians should say and not.
Mark will appear before the committee next week to testify about its launch of a single currency – Libra.
