Facebook Agrees To 20 Years Of Privacy Audits

Facebook and the FTC have finalized a settlement over privacy lapses that Facebook made in 2009 when it updated its website to make some user information public by default. Per the terms of the settlement, first announced in November 2011, Facebook is supposed to create a comprehensive internal privacy program and agrees to submit to 20 years’-worth of privacy audits every two years by an independent third party. It is similar to a settlement the FTC reached with Google in October 2011 over privacy violations related to Google’s now-defunct Buzz social network. The FTC recently fined Google $22.5 million for failing to abide by the terms of the settlement.