Facebook Deceived Users About Phone Numbers and Facial Recognition, US FTC Expected to Say

Federal regulators expected to take issue with Facebook's earlier implementation of two-factor authentication.

Advertisement
By Tony Romm, The Washington Post | Updated: 24 July 2019 13:12 IST
Facebook Deceived Users About Phone Numbers and Facial Recognition, US FTC Expected to Say

The Federal Trade Commission plans to allege that Facebook misled users about its handling of their phone numbers as part of a wide-ranging complaint that accompanies a settlement ending the government's privacy probe, according to two people familiar with the matter.

In the complaint, which has not been released, federal regulators take issue with Facebook's earlier implementation of a security feature called two-factor authentication. It allows users to request a one-time password, sent by text message, each time they log onto the social-networking site.

But some advertisers managed to target Facebook users who uploaded those contact details, perhaps without the full knowledge of those who provided them, the two sources said. The misuse of the phone numbers was first identified in media reports and by academics this year.

The FTC also plans to allege that Facebook had provided insufficient information to users - roughly 30 million - about their ability to turn off a tool that would identify and offer tag suggestions for photos, the sources added. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity. The facial recognition issue appears to have first been publicised earlier this year by Consumer Reports.

Advertisement

The FTC declined to comment. Facebook also declined to comment.

The two privacy violations are included in a complaint tied to a settlement brokered between the FTC and Facebook, which sources said they expect to be announced Wednesday. The agreement requires Facebook to submit to unprecedented federal oversight of its business practices, as The Post first reported in May, including the creation of a special committee on its board of directors that regularly certifies that the tech giant is handling user data appropriately.

Advertisement

But the inclusion of those two privacy issues in the complaint highlights a critical question facing the commission: how to handle a litany of privacy scandals that came to light during the course of the FTC's 16-month investigation into Facebook, and whether the FTC will penalise the tech giant for those additional violations or give it a clean slate going forward.

As part of the settlement, Facebook won't be required to admit guilt, according to three people familiar with the matter. The FTC often allows companies to avoid admitting any wrongdoing as part of its agreements ending investigations, choosing instead to focus its legal firepower on securing substantial changes to an offending company's business practices. But the move could embolden critics who feel the agency was not aggressive enough in its negotiations with Facebook.

Advertisement

"There's a growing perception that the perceived effectiveness of what the agency's doing depends on [its] ability to extract this kind of acknowledgment of fault," said William Kovacic, a former FTC commissioner who's now a professor at the George Washington University Law School

Google avoided a statement of guilt when it was penalised by the FTC in 2012 for its privacy violations as part of an agreement with the agency that saw the tech giant pay a $22.5 million fine. On Monday, Equifax also did not admit guilt to the FTC even as it committed to the agency to improve its cybersecurity practices. The credit-reporting agency drew the FTC's attention after it suffered a massive security breach in 2017 that put 147 million Americans' personal data in jeopardy.

Adding to some critics' potential objections: The FTC did not question Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, two people familiar with the probe said Tuesday.

The settlement is weaker than the tough penalties - including a fine into the tens of billions of dollars - that some at the FTC initially hoped to obtain from Facebook, sources told The Washington Post over the course of a six-month investigation. Those issues prompted the FTC's two Democrats to vote against the settlement in July.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Facebook, FTC
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Vivo X200 FE Global Launch Confirmed; Design Teased
  2. Vivo Y400 Pro 5G India Launch Date Confirmed; Design Revealed
  3. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series, Watch X2 Mini, Enco Buds 3, Pad SE to Launch Globally
  4. Poco F7 Launch Date, Price in India, Design and Key Features Leaked Online
  5. Realme Narzo 80 Lite 5G Launched in India With 6,000mAh Battery: See Price
  1. Bitget Partners UNICEF Unit to Expand Blockchain Training Across India, Other Countries 
  2. WhatsApp Reportedly Working on Ability to Scan Documents on Android Smartphones
  3. ElevenLabs Expands Eleven V3 Text-to-Speech Model With Support for 41 New Languages
  4. Vivo T4 Lite 5G India Launch Confirmed; Battery Capacity, Price Range Teased
  5. TikTok Pushes Deeper Into AI-Generated Video Ads With New Tools
  6. Apple Risks Fresh EU Charge Sheet Over App Store Curbs
  7. The Witcher 4 Will Target 60 FPS on Consoles, but Series S Will Be 'Extremely Challenging' Says CD Projekt Red
  8. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series Global Launch Teased Alongside Watch X2 Mini, Enco Buds 3 and Pad SE
  9. Microsoft Begins Testing AI Agents in Windows 11, Brings Option to Share Recall Snapshots in Europe
  10. watchOS 26 to Bring Control Center Customisation Options with User-Defined Toggles
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.