FTC Leverages Its Limited Clout in Facebook Settlement (1)

The Federal Trade Commission’s $5 billion Facebook Inc. privacy settlement shows the GOP-controlled agency is ready to use its limited authority, especially to police companies with which it has already tangled over data privacy.

The agency has few direct privacy powers, but can investigate companies for unfair or deceptive trade practices, including data handling practices not disclosed in privacy policies. It entered into a consent decree with Facebook in 2012 to resolve earlier privacy missteps, giving it more power to regulate the social media giant.

Other companies that already have consent decrees with the commission “should look at this,” GOP ...