Privacy group sues FTC for records on Facebook’s privacy program

An advocacy group is suing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for records on Facebook’s privacy practices, arguing that there’s a “clear public interest” in learning details about the social media giant’s policies following revelations of a data scandal last month.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) on Friday filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act to push for the unredacted release of biennial privacy assessments that Facebook agreed to submit under a 2011 consent agreement with the FTC.

The FTC recently released a heavily redacted version of the latest assessment, from 2017 and conducted by the firm PwC, which signed off on Facebook’s privacy program.

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EPIC argues that the public deserves to see the full reports after it was revealed that a political research firm with ties to President Trump improperly obtained data on 87 million Facebook users.

“The release of the full audits is crucial for Congress, the States Attorneys General, and the public to evaluate how the Cambridge Analytica breach occurred and the FTC, Facebook, and the selected independent third-party auditor fulfilled their obligation under the 2012 FTC Consent Order,” the filing reads.

A spokeswoman for the FTC declined to comment. Facebook did not immediately respond when contacted by The Hill.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for D.C.