US authorities hit Facebook with ‘unprecedented’ $7 billion fine

Facebook has been fined a record $7 billion by US authorities for privacy breaches and imposed new restrictions to change the social media giant’s entire privacy culture.

US authorities have fined Facebook $US5 billion ($A7.1 billion) for privacy violations and are instituting new oversight and restrictions on the tech giant’s business.

But the Federal Trade Commission is only holding the social media platform’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally responsible in a limited fashion following an investigation sparked by revelations that data mining firm Cambridge Analytica had gathered details on up to 87 million Facebook users without their commission.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying at a US Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in April, 2018. Picture: Zach Gibson

Facebook shares dropped 1 per cent as news broke about the fine, which is the largest the US Federal Trade Commission has levied on a tech company.

As part of the agency’s settlement with Facebook, Zuckerberg will now have to personally certify his company’s compliance with its privacy programs.

The FTC said that false certifications could expose him to civil or criminal penalties. Some experts had thought the FTC might fine Zuckerberg directly or seriously limit his authority over the company.

“The magnitude of the $US5 billion penalty and sweeping conduct relief are unprecedented in the history of the FTC,” Joe Simons, the chairman of the FTC, said in a statement.

Zuckerberg has been instructed to personally certify Facebook’s compliance with its privacy programs. Picture: Bertrand Guay/AFP

He added that the new restrictions are designed “to change Facebook’s entire privacy culture to decrease the likelihood of continued violations.”

Facebook does not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

The commission opened its investigation last year after the Cambridge Analytica revelations. The agency said last night that following its year-long investigation of the company, the Department of Justice will file a complaint alleging that Facebook “repeatedly used deceptive disclosures and settings to undermine users’ privacy preferences.”