WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic and Republican lawmakers both stressed the need for bipartisan privacy legislation on Wednesday but seemed divided on how willing they were to strengthen the Federal Trade Commission, which is expected to be tasked with enforcing an eventual law.
At the hearing of a House of Representatives Energy and Commerce subcommittee, FTC Chairman Joe Simons and one of the four commissioners were asked about an expected settlement with Facebook Inc for violating a privacy consent decree and tightening oversight of users’ privacy. Both declined comment.
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating allegations that Facebook failed to live up to a 2011 consent decree to protect users’ privacy by inappropriately sharing information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.
Facebook said last month the settlement could cost between $3 billion and $5 billion.
Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan…
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