The real stinger of the Federal Trade Commission’s latest settlement with Facebook is not the $5 billion fine – the largest-ever FTC penalty, but just about a month’s revenue for the technology giant. More significant is that the settlement also requires Facebook to submit its data-handling practices to outside review, in hopes of better protecting users’ privacy. Tufts University social media scholar Bhaskar Chakravorti breaks down why neither the fine nor an independent review can force Facebook to behave any better than it has in the past.

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Who’s watching Facebook watch you? alphaspirit/Shutterstock.com

Why Facebook’s new ‘privacy cop’ is doomed to fail

Bhaskar Chakravorti, Tufts University

There's no way an independent assessor will be able to actually monitor how Facebook might violate or abuse users' privacy in key ways.

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