Facebook paid the record $5 billion FTC penalty in 2019 over privacy violations linked to Cambridge Analytica.
The case followed revelations that data from millions of Facebook users had been collected through a personality-quiz application and shared with Cambridge Analytica. The data was obtained through a loophole in Facebook’s platform rules and was used for political profiling.
The Federal Trade Commission said Facebook had violated a 2012 privacy settlement by misleading users about how their information was handled. The $5 billion settlement was announced in July 2019 and included new privacy-governance requirements.
Cambridge Analytica did not create Facebook, and the scandal was not the same as a conventional hacking incident. The central issue was third-party access and Facebook’s oversight of that access. The episode intensified worldwide debate about targeted advertising, consent and platform accountability.