Facebook to be fined $5 billion over Cambridge Analytica scandal (REPORTS)

That's a hell of a lot of money.

US regulators have approved a record $5 billion (€4.4 billion) fine on Facebook to settle an investigation into data privacy violations, according to a number of reports.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) were investigating widespread allegations that the political consultancy company Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained the data of up to 87 million Facebook users, and it appears as thought they have made their decision. According to both The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, the settlement was approved by a 3-2 vote that completely divided political parties, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. Both publications cited an anonymous source in their reports. Facebook are yet to comment on the recent information. According to The Guardian, the $5 billion fine would be the largest ever levied by the FTC against a technology company, and the largest ever against any company for a privacy violation. The settlement would mean that Facebook will likely now reexamine the ways it handles user data, but will not restrict from them continuing to share information with third parties. Over a year ago, a large number of Facebook users in Ireland were informed that their data may have been compromised in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.