Mark Zuckerberg may soon find himself in an unfamiliar situation: facing actual, personal consequences for Facebook's missteps.
As the FTC continues to investigate the social network's mishandling of user data, it's looking more and more likely that officials will single out the Facebook CEO as they look to impose new punishments on the company.
Days after the Washington Post reported the FTC is in the midst of "discussions about how to hold Zuckerberg accountable for Facebook’s data lapses," the paper now reports a Democratic senator is urging the agency to put the Facebook founder on blast. Zuckerberg should be "individually liable," for Facebook's privacy violations, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden wrote in a letter to the FTC.
"The FTC must also make clear the significant and material penalties that will apply to both Facebook the corporate and Mr. Zuckerberg the individual should any future violations occur,” he wrote in a letter reported by the Washington Post. Wyden has previously been a vocal critic of Facebook.
It would be a rare move for the FTC, which refrained from singling out Zuckerberg in 2011, the last time the social network had a run-in with the agency.
But after years of privacy scandals and repeated pledges from Zuckerberg and co. to do better, officials' patience appears to be wearing thin. Punishing Zuckerberg personally would not only be a significant embarrassment for Zuckerberg personally, it would serve as a warning to other Silicon Valley tech giants.
The timing would be especially bad for Zuckerberg and Facebook, however. In addition to the FTC, the company is also facing an SEC investigation and a criminal probe into its data sharing practices. Meanwhile, lawmakers have said they want to break up the company and Facebook shareholders have sought to strip Zuck of his stranglehold over the company.
And while it's still possible not much will come of any of this -- Facebook has successfully fended off investigations and angry shareholders in the past -- the fact that Zuckerberg is being called out so publicly suggests the CEO's reputation could ultimately take a significant hit that even Facebook's massive PR machine won't be able to repair.
Topics Facebook
