Facebook sells user data without permission, ready to pay $95 billion in fines

Kathmandu. Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has agreed to pay $725 million (more than $95 billion) after admitting to the charge of selling user data to third parties without permission. ​

In 2016, Facebook was accused of selling the data of 87 million users to a third-party company, Cambridge Analytica, without their permission. The data was said to be directly linked to former US President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.A case was filed against Facebook in 2018 on the same charge. Accepting this charge, Meta is ready to pay the fine.

Various individuals filed lawsuits alleging that Facebook provided third parties with access to their Facebook content and information without their consent. According to the law firm behind the lawsuit, Facebook failed to adequately monitor third-party access and use of that information.

Cambridge Analytica was shut down in 2018 due to this controversy. The company was forced to shut down for using Facebook data to influence election campaigns. This scandal also reduced the popularity of Facebook. It is alleged that this scandal is directly connected behind the fact that Facebook kept the name of its company Meta.

Facebook has been on a downward spiral since its parent company changed its name to Meta. Especially due to the emergence of competitors like Tiktok and Apple’s policy changes, the company is facing billions of losses.