Friend,

Facebook is out of control: News broke earlier this week that it gave more than 150 companies access to your personal data — including your private messages. This action was unethical and possibly illegal: It likely violated an agreement Facebook had with the Federal Trade Commission.

We've had enough with Facebook's excuses: Urge the FTC and Congress to hold the company accountable.

Thanks!

Candace

Friend,

Facebook DGAF about your privacy.

Turns out the social-networking giant has been giving Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, Yahoo and about 150 other companies a frightening amount of access to your personal data — including your allegedly private messages — without your permission for years.

A New York Times investigation¹ reveals that the access Facebook has given these partners exceeds even what it gave to Cambridge Analytica, which harvested data from millions of users to influence the 2016 election.

But this violation isn’t just immoral: It’s also likely illegal. Facebook appears to be in violation of a “consent-decree agreement” it reached with the Federal Trade Commission over previous privacy violations.²

Enough is enough: Tell the FTC and Congress to hold Facebook accountable.

Violating the consent decree is punishable with fines of thousands of dollars per offense. This means that Facebook, one of the highest-valued companies on Earth, could be liable for billions of dollars in damages.

We need to demand more of our enforcement agencies, and we need to demand more of companies that gather detailed information about our lives for profit. The FTC should aggressively seek punitive damages against Facebook and put a stop to its deceptive behavior.

It’s time Facebook started paying up — literally — for its mistakes. Demand that policymakers hold the company accountable.

Facebook wields a ton of power and influence, and this isn’t a fight we’ll win overnight. But we can’t keep letting this out-of-control company get away with one abhorrent action after another.

Thanks for all that you do—

Candace, Gaurav and the rest of the Free Press team
freepress.net

P.S. We’re sick and tired of Facebook’s repeated privacy violations. It’s time for policymakers to hold the company accountable.

1. "As Facebook Raised a Privacy Wall, It Carved an Opening for Tech Companies," The New York Times, Dec. 18, 2018: https://act.freepress.net/go/28967?t=8&akid=11905%2E10296224%2EEkDRQ5

2. "Facebook Violates Its Users’ Privacy Yet Again,” Free Press, Dec. 19, 2018: https://act.freepress.net/go/28968?t=10&akid=11905%2E10296224%2EEkDRQ5