Penalty Amount
$5,000,000,000
The FTC charged Facebook with deceiving consumers about its privacy practices and violating a 2012 consent order. In July 2019, Facebook agreed to pay a $5 billion civil penalty and accept comprehensive new privacy restrictions.
Facebook must pay a $5 billion civil penalty and comply with injunctive relief that imposes sweeping new privacy restrictions.
In-house legal teams should review all customer agreements (e.g., terms of service), vendor contracts, and data processing addendums for clauses related to privacy promises, user consent for data collection and sharing, breach notification procedures, data retention and deletion policies, audit rights, and regulatory compliance. Given the FTC's findings of deceptive practices and violation of the 2012 Consent Order, contracts must be updated to ensure privacy representations are clear and non-misleading, incorporate explicit consent mechanisms for data sharing, mandate compliance with FTC orders, enhance security standards, and strengthen breach notification protocols. Specific changes may include adding language on FTC adherence, revising indemnification to cover privacy breaches, and ensuring data sharing is contingent on verifiable user consent.
Entity
Facebook, Inc.
Also known as: Meta
Industry
Social MediaOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/092-3184-182-3109-c-4365-facebook-inc-matter
182 3109 facebook complaint filed 7 24 19
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/182_3109_facebook_complaint_filed_7-24-19.pdf
182 3109 facebook order filed 7 24 19
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/182_3109_facebook_order_filed_7-24-19.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"In the Matter of Facebook, Inc., a corporation"
"FTC Imposes $5 Billion Penalty and Sweeping New Privacy Restrictions on Facebook"
"July 24, 2019"
"Stipulated Order for Civil Penalty, Monetary Judgment and Injunctive Relief"
"The FTC alleged that Facebook violated its privacy promises to consumers and subsequently violated a 2012 Commission order."
$750K
The FTC finalized an order against Vanilla Chip LLC (doing business as TruHeight) and its principals for deceptively advertising height-enhancing supplements for children and teens without scientific evidence. The company also used fake reviews and incentivized 5-star ratings. The order requires a $750,000 payment and prohibits false health claims and deceptive review practices.
$2.3M
The FTC alleged that RentGrow, a tenant screening company, violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to use reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of its reports, including by reporting duplicate records and failing to disclose data sources. RentGrow agreed to pay a $2.25 million penalty and is prohibited from further FCRA violations and from misrepresenting dispute outcomes.
The FTC and New York Attorney General took action against Handy Technologies for deceptive earnings claims and failure to disclose fees and fines that led to millions of dollars being withheld from workers' wages. The FTC is sending over $2.7 million in refunds to 62,893 affected consumers.
$35.0M
The FTC alleged that Hopper, a travel booking app, charged consumers hidden and pre-selected fees (Tip and VIP Support) without their consent, misrepresented the benefits of VIP Support and Price Freeze services, and failed to clearly disclose total prices. Hopper agreed to pay $35 million for consumer redress and is prohibited from misrepresenting fees under a proposed order.
$1.5M
The FTC finalized a settlement with Publishing.com LLC and its principals for misleading consumers about potential earnings from self-publishing products. The company will pay $1.5 million and is prohibited from making unsubstantiated earnings claims, failing to disclose refund terms, and misrepresenting endorsements and reviews.
The FTC is seeking public comment on a proposed policy statement addressing concerns that AI companies may be manipulating AI system outputs contrary to consumer expectations for objectivity and accuracy. The statement explains that such conduct could be considered deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The public comment period runs until July 31, 2026.