Court Questions FTC’s Authority to Change Court-Approved Settlements

A panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit appeared to voice skepticism this week regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) authority to unilaterally modify a 2019 settlement agreement with Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook.
The settlement, which required Meta to pay a record $5 billion fine and enhance its privacy protections, is now the focal point of a legal dispute over the FTC’s attempt to impose additional obligations on the tech giant.
The dispute traces back to a 2012 complaint in which the FTC accused Facebook of misleading users about its data privacy practices….