Bloomberg Law
July 15, 2019, 11:47 PM

Facebook’s $5 Billion Fine ‘Slap on the Wrist,’ GOP Senators Say

Daniel R. Stoller
Daniel R. Stoller
Senior Legal Editor
Rebecca Kern
Rebecca Kern
Reporter

Facebook‘s $5 billion settlement to end a Federal Trade Commission privacy probe is drawing fire from a pair of Senate Republicans.

Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said the fine is too small a penalty for the social media giant. Their criticism signals that Facebook still faces bipartisan headwinds on Capitol Hill over its data privacy practices, despite the settlement.

“I think the fine is not big enough,” Hawley said, adding, “this is a slap on the wrist at best.”

The GOP-controlled agency approved the settlement on a party-line vote to end an investigation into the company’s ...

Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:

Learn About Bloomberg Law

AI-powered legal analytics, workflow tools and premium legal & business news.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools.