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The US government and Facebook are negotiating an agreement on the company's privacy breaches that could force the online social network to pay a multi-billion dollar fine, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The paper said that the US Federal Trade Commission and Facebook had not agreed on an amount, citing two people he thought knew the issue. Facebook reported a turnover of 16.9 billion USD for the fourth quarter and a profit of 6.9 billion USD.
The FTC has investigated revelations that Facebook inappropriately shared information belonging to 87 million of its users with the now defunct British policy consultancy Cambridge Analytica.
The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether data sharing with Cambridge Analytica and other privacy disputes violated the 2011 agreement with the FTC to protect the privacy of users.
A potential settlement may also require changes in the way Facebook manages its activities.
Facebook declined to comment directly on the Washington Post report. "We are working with the FTC and will continue to work with the FTC," said a spokeswoman.
The FTC declined to comment.
The biggest penalty imposed by the FTC for a breach of privacy was US $ 22.5 million charged to Google in 2012. The agency has reached larger agreements on other issues.
The FTC entered into a $ 1.2 billion deal with pharmaceutical company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in 2015 to resolve the antitrust violations committed by Cephalon, which it had acquired.
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