Facebook, government urge court to approve $5-billion FTC settlement

Facebook and the Justice Department are urging a federal judge to approve the $5-billion deal the Federal Trade Commission reached with Facebook to settle Cambridge Analytica privacy complaints. The landmark settlement was challenged in July by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, known as EPIC, and is under review by Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In legal filings Friday, the Justice Department said the deal would bring "substantial relief" to consumers and Facebook argued that the settlement would provide "privacy protections far beyond those required by United States law" and "an unsurpassed level of accountability by its executives."