Sen. Maria Cantwell, a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, sent a letter to U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons over the FTC's $5 billion settlement with Facebook Inc.
Facebook in July agreed to pay the fine for violating a 2012 order with the FTC related to the company's user data practices. In the Oct. 10 letter, Cantwell said she was "concerned that the settlement lets Facebook off the hook for unspecified violations."
Cantwell wrote that the agency's agreement with Facebook has been criticized by outside observers and other commissioners, who noted that the settlement "may absolve Facebook from liability for past violations."
The senator asked the FTC to provide additional information about how it conducted its investigation of the social media giant, including the number of complaints received by the FTC regarding Facebook's data privacy and security practices, and whether the FTC was aware of complaints against the company for transcribing user audio.
Cantwell also asked the FTC to provide a list of other settlements which resulted in "unknown claims for violations."
