By John D. McKinnon 

WASHINGTON -- The federal government's privacy investigation into Facebook Inc. appears to be nearing a conclusion, with the prospect of a large fine looming for the social-media giant.

Federal Trade Commission officials have said privately that they are close to completing their investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter. The main issue outstanding is the penalty, which is expected to include a substantial fine, the person said.

The Washington Post earlier reported the advanced discussions on Friday, saying the penalty could exceed the record-setting $22.5 fine the FTC imposed on Alphabet Inc.'s Google division in 2012.

FTC officials didn't respond to a request for comment. Like other federal agencies, its operations have been hindered by the partial government shutdown.

The FTC has been probing whether Facebook violated terms of an earlier consent decree when data of tens of millions of its users was transferred to Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that did work for the campaign of President Trump.

Facebook suspended Cambridge Analytica from its platform company after acknowledging that the analytics firm improperly obtained personal data of millions of users -- a violation of Facebook's own policies that govern how third-party developers can deploy user data they obtained from the company.

Facebook declined to comment on Friday. In the past the company has said that it remains strongly committed to protecting people's information.

The FTC in 2011 charged Facebook with deceiving consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, but then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.

The case was settled by Facebook agreeing to give consumers clear notice and obtain their express consent before sharing their information beyond their privacy settings.

It also agreed to maintain a comprehensive privacy program to protect consumers' information.

Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2019 20:30 ET (01:30 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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