Facebook to create privacy positions under FTC settlement

Washington, D.C.

THE Federal Trade Commission is negotiating a settlement with Facebook that would create new positions at the company focused on strengthening its privacy practices, according to two people with knowledge of the talks.

Facebook has agreed to create a privacy committee to protect its users' data, as well as create the position of an external assessor who would be appointed by the company and the FTC, said the people, who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly. The social network will also appoint a head compliance officer - who could be its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg - to oversee privacy efforts, one of the people said.

The proposed commitments are part of negotiations between the agency and Facebook to settle privacy violations.

The settlement talks are being watched as a potential blueprint for privacy in the United States at a time of fierce criticism over the competition, labour and privacy policies of big tech companies. The FTC has been widely criticised in the past for limited oversight of the companies.

The case against Facebook is also being watched as a measure of the Trump administration's willingness to regulate US companies. NYTIMES