WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) and Consumer Protection and Commerce Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released the following statement after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced, at the conclusion of their investigation into Facebook’s privacy practices, a $5 billion settlement with the company:
“Today’s settlement announcement by the FTC against Facebook is one of the largest civil penalties ever imposed by the U.S. government, and it is by far the largest privacy or data security settlement the world has seen yet. There are many questions about how the new requirements on Facebook will be enforced and what impact that will have on users’ privacy moving forward. Those details will really matter, but what we do know is that this order covers a wide range of privacy and data security issues at Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. When Mr. Zuckerberg came to testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee, it was clear that things needed to change. We will continue our oversight of the agency to get answers on these new enforcement requirements, because we must ensure these settlement order terms are enforced to protect the American public. We will also continue our work on a federal privacy framework that sets clear rules of the road to protect consumers" said Walden and Rodgers.
