Facebook climbs after the FTC approves the company's $5 billion privacy settlement
- Facebook stock extended gains in late trading Friday after the FTC approved a $5 billion settlement payment with the social media company. The stock closed up roughly 2%.
- The payment resolves an investigation stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
- The FTC settlement marks the most significant action yet against Facebook for its series of missteps that compromised users' data and privacy.
- Watch Facebook trade live here.
Facebook stock rose in the last few minutes of regular-hours trading on Friday after the US Federal Trade Commission approved a record privacy settlement with the social media company, requiring it to pay about $5 billion.
The stock closed up nearly 2% at $204.87 at a share and continued to climb slightly in after-hours trading.
The multi-billion-dollar penalty will resolve an investigation stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal that occurred in early 2018. The settlement was approved by a vote of 3-2, according to Bloomberg.
The settlement marks the most significant action yet against the social media giant over several missteps that compromised users' data and led to efforts in Washington to enhance online privacy measures. The scandal also sparked a push to insulate social networks from online disinformation campaigns similar to those used by Russian trolls in 2016 before the 2020 presidential election.
