Facebook faces a billion-dollar fine in the U.S.
Social media giant Facebook is facing a potential fine of several billion dollars in the USA. The US consumer protection authority, the Federal Trade Commission, wants to prosecute the company for its permissive use of customer data.
"Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook's image has been tarnished, as can be seen from its share price. Facebook must now change its strategies. Privacy is becoming an increasingly decisive factor in the acceptance of social media," explains Markus Hübner, social media expert and CEO of Brandflow, in an interview with the Pressetext news agency.
Hübner points out that the media landscape has changed since the rise of Facebook. "Data protection used to be less of an issue in the public eye, but now you can see the extent of data usage on social media. This has caused a rethink, customers are thinking twice about where they log in. I hope that Facebook will give in on this issue. Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly reassured his shareholders with PR messages, but the announcements are still rarely put into practice. Hopefully the ruling will be the catalyst for a different line."
Facebook is currently still negotiating with the authorities. Hübner acknowledges the possibility that the company will pay the fine, but he does not necessarily see this as a positive thing: "Unfortunately, it may be that Facebook can simply afford these fines. The share price has already recovered considerably. There have been a few scandals at Facebook in recent years, but unfortunately they disappear after a few weeks. I believe Facebook will pay the fine. It remains to be seen whether Facebook will change the way it handles customer data as a result, but I'm skeptical. A profound change would be needed here, not only at a technical level, but also in the company's DNA. This is the only way Facebook can repair its image." (pte)
