Facebook has agreed to greater oversight in talks with FTC: reports

Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are negotiating a settlement that would involve greater oversight of the company’s privacy practices, according to media reports this week.

On Friday, The Washington Post reported that Facebook had told the agency it was willing to undergo privacy assessments of its business practices as part of a settlement to end the FTC’s yearlong probe into the company.

Any such concession would reportedly be in addition to a potential record fine against the social network. Last week, Facebook revealed that it was anticipating a fine of up to $5 billion.{mosads}

Politico first reported that the concessions were part of the negotiations earlier this week.

The settlement has yet to be completed and would still be subject to a vote from the FTC’s five commissioners.

The proposal for increased oversight would reportedly include a person appointed by regulators to oversee privacy practices within the company and it would designate Facebook CEO and Chairman Mark Zuckerberg as the compliance officer. It could also involve a “privacy committee” within the company consisting of board members and other officials.

Facebook and the FTC declined to comment on the reports.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service could also be covered under the agreement.

The Journal also reported that the two sides are close to finishing the settlement, with a chance that it’s completed within the next week.