Facebook could be facing some pretty hefty fines from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) if officials are able to denote a violation in relation to the recent Cambridge Analytica mishap. Each of the fines could total around $40,000 USD according to a new report published by The Washington Post.
Each user whose data has been harvested by Facebook can be considered a single violation, which will effectively add up to nearly $2 trillion USD in fines.
The Federal Trade Commission decree states that users must initially give consent before any data is shared about them that has not been strictly issued as private by any said individual. Cambridge Analytica collected data that showcased users who allowed their information to be shared, of which the company mined a plethora of data. However, they have also retrieved information from those users' friends because of their association with the individuals whose data was initially harvested.
The FTC has declared that this is a violation of their consent decree and is worthy of being legally punished in the American Court of Law if either party is found guilty.
