Facebook faces $5 billion fine over privacy violations

Washington sues Facebook for sharing users’ data: Facebook faces $5 billion fine over privacy violations

It is the first legal case against Facebook over the privacy scandal.
The Cambridge Analytica incident stems from a personality – quiz app offered to Facebook users by a Cambridge University researcher. Facebook admitted that a third-party personality quiz app collected the personal information of users’ friends, and the information was sold to the London-based political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

Some 87 million users worldwide were affected. Facebook has also admitted to giving tech companies like Amazon and Yahoo access to users’ personal data.

The settlement is the largest privacy fine in the FTC’s history and also marks the most significant action yet against Facebook over a series of mishaps that have compromised users’ data.

US regulators have reportedly voted to fine Facebook $5 billion for data breaches. The settlement still needs to be approved by the Justice Department before it is finalized. It is not yet clear how long that process will take.

Your company might not be Facebook, but be aware that according to the new Thai Personal Data Protection (PDPA), companies have a one year period – since 27 May 2019 – to become fully compliant. Otherwise you may face Penalties & fines up to 5,000,000 THB and imprisonment up to 1 year.

A free audit consultation by ADD is offered to help you understand the meanings and consequences of Data Privacy Laws, and how to implement compliance processes in your company.