Facebook to pay $9 million penalty to settle concerns about misleading privacy claims

Facebook has agreed to pay $9 million in fines after a Canadian Competition Bureau investigation revealed the social media giant had made false or misleading claims about the privacy of Canadians’ personal information.

A press release from the bureau said Facebook will also pay an additional $500,000 for the cost of the investigation.

“The payments are part of a settlement registered today with the Competition Tribunal in which Facebook has agreed not to make false or misleading representations about the disclosure of personal information,” the release said. “This includes representations about the extent to which users can control access to their personal information on Facebook and Messenger.”

The bureau’s investigation took place between August 2012 to June 2018. It concluded that Facebook gave the impression that users had control over who could see and access their personal information.

It found that Facebook “did not limit the sharing of users’ personal information with some third-party developers in a way that was consistent with the company’s privacy claims,” the release said.

Canadians expect and deserve truth from businesses in the digital economy, and claims about privacy are no exception.

Thanks to a complaint about Facebook's false claims made here: https://t.co/pKu2hygQC9

Facebook just handed over $9 million penalty: https://t.co/uq9xsnMqvM

— Thexyz (@thexyz) May 19, 2020