META Meta Platforms Inc

By WSJ City 

Facebook uncovered emails that appear to connect Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to potentially problematic privacy practices at the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

Within the company, the unearthing of the emails in the process of responding to a continuing federal privacy investigation has raised concerns that they would be harmful to Facebook -- at least from a public-relations standpoint -- if they were to become public, one of the people said.

KEY FACTS:

   -- The emails suggest Facebook didn't make compliance with a 2012 FTC decree 
      a priority, the people said. 
 
   -- Under the order, Facebook agreed to better protect user privacy. 
 
   -- It couldn't be determined whether any of the emails reveal practices that 
      violated the 2012 accord. 
 
   -- It couldn't be determined exactly what emails the agency has requested 
      and how many of them relate to Zuckerberg. 
 
   -- The emails were described by people familiar with them but not reviewed 
      by WSJ. 

"We have fully cooperated with the FTC's investigation to date and provided tens of thousands of documents, emails and files. We are continuing to work with them and hope to bring this matter to an appropriate resolution...Facebook and its executives, including Mark, at all times strive to comply with all applicable law, and at no point did Mark or any other Facebook employee knowingly violate the company's obligations under the FTC consent order," a Facebook spokesperson said.

Context

The FTC investigation began more than a year ago after reports that personal data of tens of millions of Facebook users improperly wound up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that worked on President Trump's 2016 campaign.

Why This Matters

The potential impact of the internal emails has been a factor in the tech giant's desire to reach a speedy settlement of the investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, one of the people said. Any evidence that Zuckerberg was directly involved in a potential failure on Facebook's part to honour the terms of its consent decree could complicate efforts on both sides to resolve the matter.

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 13, 2019 06:04 ET (10:04 GMT)

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