Staff members at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have begun looking at the Facebook Papers and are checking if the company has violated its prior privacy settlement with the agency, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The documents showing Facebook's internal workings have suggested the company carefully studies its effect on a range of social problems, but often chooses to prioritize profit over fixing issues including the worsening of teen anxieties and international human trafficking.
The insights have been made public in dozens of reports from several media outlets with access to documents from whistleblower Frances Haugen, and prompted lawmakers to call for the FTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch probes.
In 2019, in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook paid $5 billion to settle claims it had systematically violated its earlier privacy commitments. The FTC is also suing Facebook for alleged antitrust violations, and Haugen has also sent documents to the SEC.
Both agencies frequently look into matters that first come to light from media reports, though such investigations don't always result in formal probes, let alone charges.
Facebook has said the disclosures from Haugen have been taken out of context and that it invests in user safety. The company said it "will continue to cooperate with government inquiries," according to the Journal.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE