Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.Learn more.
FTC officially puts Facebook under federal investigation
August 19, 2025
TheCambridge Audio Analytica scandalis probably keeping Mark Zuckerberg up at night. After he posteda Facebook status updatetaking full responsibility for the misuse of Facebook user information, he put outfull-page adsin major newspapers over the weekend where he again expressed his remorse.
But apologies and proposed policy updates aren’t enough in this case, as today the Federal Trade Commissionofficially announcedthat it has opened a non-public investigation into Facebook and its privacy practices.
Tom Pahl, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, issued a statement, reprinted here in full:
Because the investigation is specifically labeled as “non-public,” we could never hear about this again.According to the FTC itself, non-public investigations are designed to “protect both the investigation and the individuals and companies involved,” and if any laws were violated, the agency could offer a chance to voluntarily comply to a consent order. If the company complies, the company “need not admit that it violated the law,” but it “must agree to stop the disputed practices.”
In theory, this could mean that the FTC will tellFacebook, “Hey, don’t do this anymore,” Facebook could say, “Ok, sure,” change its policies, and that’s that. No public statements needed, no disclosures of any kind.
But even if that’s how this plays out, the scandal has already done significant damage to the brand. Facebook stockis plungingat insane speeds, the “#deleteFB” tag is still going strong on Twitter, and even a co-founder of Facebook-ownedWhatsAppsays you should delete your account. It’s going to take a lot of positive press for Facebook to recover from this mess.
If you are looking to delete your Facebook profile,check out our guide here. However, you should alsoread this articleabout why you probably will end up rejoining again in the future.
NEXT:How to read your valuable Facebook data
Thank you for being part of our community. Read ourComment Policybefore posting.
