Extract from Doug Austin’s article “This Makes the Potential GDPR Fine Against British Airways Look Like Peanuts: Data Privacy Trends”
It was just last week that we discussed the new (probable) largest fine since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was enacted last May, with the proposed fine of nearly $230 million against British Airways for a data breach last year. But, this fine approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Facebook for data privacy violations makes that fine look like peanuts.
As discussed by Sharon Nelson in her excellent Ride the Lightning blog (FTC Approves Fine of Roughly $5 Billion Against Facebook for Privacy Violations), the New York Times (subscription required) reported on July 12th that the FTC has approved a fine of roughly $5 billion against Facebook for mishandling users’ personal information, according to three people briefed on the vote, in what would be a landmark settlement that signals a newly aggressive stance by regulators toward the country’s most powerful technology companies.
