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Facebook Inc will pay a record-breaking $5 billion fine to resolve a government probe into its privacy practices and the social media giant will restructure its approach to privacy, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday.

The probe uncovered a wide range of privacy issues. It was triggered last year by allegations that Facebook violated a 2012 consent decree by inappropriately sharing information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The consultancy’s clients included President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.

Continue reading “Facebook to pay record $5 billion U.S. fine over privacy violations; critics call it a bargain”

Credit-reporting company Equifax Inc (EFX.N) will pay up to $700 million to settle claims it broke the law during a massive 2017 data breach and to repay harmed consumers, in a landmark settlement that was nonetheless criticized by consumer advocates and some lawmakers who called for stricter regulation.

While it was the largest-ever settlement for a data breach, they said the amount was still too small for the millions of Americans affected, and worried it could prove difficult for consumers to be repaid. The agreement also spurred multiple lawmakers to renew calls for legislation giving consumers more control over their personal information.

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U.S. R&B singer R. Kelly faces a bail hearing on Tuesday over federal charges that he ran a racketeering scheme trafficking women and girls for sex.

In indictments unsealed in Brooklyn, New York, and Chicago on Friday, the prosecutors said Kelly, 52, forcibly kept people under his control and then intimidated witnesses and bought their silence.

Kelly, already charged with sexual assault in Illinois, was taken into custody by New York City police detectives and federal agents on Thursday in Chicago.

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California lawmakers approved legislation on Thursday to create a $21 billion fund to help utilities in the state pay for claims arising from future wildfires sparked by their equipment, tackling a top issue for the state.

The approval came after power provider PG&E Corp filed for bankruptcy in anticipation of more than $30 billion in wildfire liabilities.

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The House Oversight Committee has scheduled a hearing next week on the separation and treatment of immigrant children and has launched an investigation into reports of offensive Facebook posts by border patrol officers, the panel said on Tuesday.

Representative Elijah Cummings, the committee’s Democratic chairman, said the panel had invited Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan from the Department of Homeland Security and Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to testify on July 12.

Continue reading “House panel to hold hearing on treatment of migrant children”