U.S. regulators approve $5 bln Facebook settlement over privacy issues - source

Reuters: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved a roughly $5 billion settlement with Facebook Inc this week over its investigation into the social media company's handling of user data, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday (July 12). The FTC has been investigating allegations Facebook inappropriately shared information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The probe has focused on whether the sharing of data and other disputes violated a 2011 consent agreement between Facebook and the regulator. Shares of Facebook rose after the news was reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier on Friday and closed up 1.8%. Facebook earlier this year said it had set aside $3 billion to pay for what it said it expected to be a $3 billion to $5 billion penalty. The FTC and Facebook declined to comment. The settlement still needs to be finalized by the Justice Department's Civil Division and a final announcement could come as early as next week, the source said. The FTC is expected to include other government restrictions on how Facebook treats user privacy, WSJ reported.