The FTC just announced the details of its settlement agreement with Facebook over years of privacy practices in violation of a previous order. To say the settlement is favorable to Facebook, even with the record $5 billion penalty, is an understatement; the company’s lawyers are probably popping champagne right about now. Here’s why. 1. $5 billion is a laugh $5 billion may sound like a lot, but in this context it is simply not a meaningful amount. Leaving aside that Facebook at this point probably makes that in a month, it simply does not correspond to the harm done or rewards reaped. It’s highly likely that Facebook’s “unjust enrichment,” made as a result of the forbidden user data collection in which it engaged, is more than $5 billion. As Commissioner Rohit Chopra says in his dissenting statement , “breaking the law has to be riskier than following it.” In other words, you shouldn’t be able to steal $100, then pay a fine of $50 to get off the hook. “The fact that Facebook’s sto...
