• The Federal Trade Commission has approved a $5 billion settlement against Facebook, according to multiple reports.
  • The record-breaking penalty comes after a probe into Facebook’s privacy practices.
  • Facebook and the FTC have declined to comment on the reported figure.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Facebook is facing a $5 billion penalty over its privacy woes.

According to reports published by The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post on Friday, the US Federal Trade Commission has approved a settlement with the California-based technology giant that would require Facebook to pay about $5 billion – a record-breaking penalty for a tech company.

The reported settlement comes in the wake of an investigation by the American regulator into the company’s myriad privacy issues and after two years of constant scandals.

Facebook previously warned investors that it expected to pay out between $3 billion to 5 billion, and the company’s stock climbed slightly on the news.

The Journal's report cited an anonymous source familiar with the matter. Spokespeople for Facebook and the FTC declined to comment to Business Insider.

The settlement is equivalent to about one month of Facebook's revenues.

The full extent of any additional restrictions the settlement may contain on how the company handles data are not clear. The New York Times reported some details: "Facebook agreed to more comprehensive oversight of how it handles user data, according to the people. But none of the conditions in the settlement will restrict Facebook's ability to collect and share data with third parties."

Some have previously pushed for the settlement to hold CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally liable for future privacy infractions.

This story is developing ...

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