Facebook expected to settle with FTC today, paying $5bn over data handling and agreeing to new controls

The FTC is expected to announce the agreement on Wednesday

Facebook will today agree to pay a $5 billion fine over its insoucient handling of user data, and to implement a wide range of new internal controls.

The agreement has been made with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with the size of the fine partly due to Facebook ignoring the terms of an earlier settlement over data handling, reached in 2011 following earlier data privacy lapses.

The announcement today caps months of speculation over the size of the fine that Facebook will be expected to pay, as well as other measures imposed on the company.

That's according to Reuters, which reports that the social media giant has agreed to establish a board committee and new executive certifications to help protect user privacy.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be personally responsible for the company's data protection practices

Under these arrangements, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be personally responsible for the company's data protection practices. Every three months, he'll be asked to prove that user data is being sufficiently safeguarded.

On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that the FTC is drafting a new complaint about the way in which Facebook manages user phone numbers and its use of facial recognition technology.

Sources told the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper that the FTC claims that Facebook not only misled users about its phone number management practices, but also its use of two-factor authentication.

In the complaint, officials have reportedly raised concerns about Facebook's facial recognition policies. They believe the firm has failed to provide users with adequate information on how to switch off the feature.

Currently, the platform uses facial recognition technology to provide users with photo tag suggestions. However, around 30 million users may be unaware of the feature and how it is used.

Such a financial punishment for purposeful, blatant illegality is chump change for a company that makes tens of billions of dollars every year

Once approved by the civil division of the US Department of Justice, the multi-billion-dollar fine imposed on Facebook will become one of the largest-ever issued by the FTC.

The settlement comes more than a year after the FTC opened an investigation over Facebook's data sharing practices with political political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. It's estimated that the agency harvested the personal data of 87 million Facebook users.

Over the past few months, the FTC has investigated whether Facebook's handling of user data violated a 2011 agreement reached with the regulator.

Although the $5 billion fine will be the largest in US corporate history, many commentators have argued that it is still too small for a company of the size and influence of Facebook.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal told Bloomberg: "This reported $5 billion penalty is barely a tap on the wrist, not even a slap. Such a financial punishment for purposeful, blatant illegality is chump change for a company that makes tens of billions of dollars every year."

Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC), added: "Something clearly has to be done to strengthen the data protection practices of that company."