Since a whistleblower alleged improper practices in collecting and sharing data belonging to more than 50 million users, the two companies have come under intense media, regulatory and legal scrutiny.

Facebook is counting the cost of losing users’ and investors’ trust, with up to $100bn wiped off of the company’s value since news of the scandal broke, and is now also under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission that could result in a penalty of up to $2tn.

“The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook,” said Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection.

The investigation is in response to “substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook” and will look at whether Facebook engaged in “unfair acts that cause substantial injury to consumers” by sharing data with Cambridge Analytica for use in political campaigns without the knowledge of the data owners.

A similar investigation has been launched in the UK by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which is charged with protecting the privacy of UK citizens.

Facebook has responded to news of the FTC investigation by saying the social networking firm remains “strongly committed” to protecting people’s information and “appreciates the opportunity” to answer the FTC’s questions.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.computerweekly.com