Report: Facebook close to settlement with FTC

{mosads} According to sources who spoke to the Journal, the settlement would require users to agree to any future changes in Facebook’s privacy settings and would force the social network to submit to independent privacy audits for 20 years.

The agreement needs official approval from the FTC’s commissioners to be finalized.

The case stems from complaints from privacy advocates over changes that Facebook made to its privacy settings in 2009. The social network made parts of users’ profiles public by default, including their picture, city and friend list. Users did not have to agree to the changes before they were implemented.

A spokesman for Facebook declined to comment on the proposed settlement.

The action is part of the FTC’s broader effort to beef up protection of online privacy. The agency also settled charges with Google over its now-abandoned social network, Google Buzz, and with Twitter in recent years.

The agency alleged that Twitter did not properly safeguard user data and that Google enrolled users in Google Buzz without their consent.

Both Google and Twitter were also required to submit to outside privacy audits as a result of their settlements.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz has called for websites to implement a “do not track” feature that would allow users to opt out of data collection.