McKenna: FTC’s Facebook investigation is a ‘serious matter’

It’s hard times for Facebook. After a “delete Facebook” movement followed a major data breach, the Federal Trade Commission set its sights on the social media giant; a significant development according to former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna.

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“It’s interesting because the FTC usually doesn’t announce its investigations … they conduct them privately and if there is a lawsuit, that becomes public,” McKenna told KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross.

But with such severe public outcry and attention from Congress over a data controversy, the FTC likely felt it needed to publicly respond, McKenna said. The company was put under a consent decree in 2011. The FTC required the social media company to tighten up its privacy policies. This included how third-party apps could access user data.

“Up until 2011, the FTC found a number of problems,” McKenna said. “Now the FTC wants to go in and conduct an investigation to see whether or not the terms of that consent decree have been honored by Facebook.”

“This is a serious matter for Facebook,” he said. “Number one, because the FTC has a lot of power to enforce the national consumer protection law; to protect consumers from deceptive and unfair practices. And number two, Facebook is already under a consent decree with the FTC dating back to 2011 in which they promised to do a better job of protecting consumer privacy.”

“It looks like they are not keeping their promises to consumers, ” McKenna added. “(The FTC) might view it as being deceptive. They are likely to look at it as an unfair practice to promise consumers one thing and not deliver on it.”

Hear Rob McKenna’s full conversation about Facebook and the FTC here

The issue could get worse for the company’s European operations. McKenna notes that Facebook will be under more pressure in the European Union where consumer protections are more strict than in the United States. The Associated Press reports that Britain’s Commissioner Elizabeth Denham is also investigating Facebook.

Facebook has grown its footprint in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood since the 2011 consent decree, adding 2,000 employees in the city.

Delete Facebook

The social media giant has attempted to simplify its privacy controls in recent weeks. But it still faces severe backlash since news that its data was misused by Cambridge Analytica. Celebrities such as Will Ferrell have shined a spotlight on the “delete Facebook” movement.

According to a survey by the Blind app, 31 percent of tech workers say they will delete Facebook. Blind is an app popular in the tech community. It allows users to anonymously chat about their companies and industry issues.

The percentage of tech workers ready to delete Facebook ranges depending on the company, however. Many companies (some with offices in the Northwest) are more willing to drop the social media platform.

Tech workers willing to delete Facebook, by company:

• Microsoft: 50 percent
• Uber: 40 percent
• Google: 38 percent
• Amazon: 34 percent
• Facebook: 2 percent

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