Big tech fines in 2019

The FTC imposed a $5B penalty and sweeping new privacy restrictions after finding that Facebook deceived users about their ability to control personal data, in violation of a 2012 consent order. Third-party apps had harvested data on up to 87 million users in the Cambridge Analytica episode. It was the largest privacy penalty in history at the time.

The Commission fined Google for imposing clauses on websites using AdSense for Search that blocked them from displaying rival search ads. In September 2024 the EU General Court annulled the decision, and the Commission has appealed to the Court of Justice.

The FTC and the New York Attorney General alleged that YouTube collected personal data from viewers of child-directed channels through cookies, without parental consent, and used it for targeted advertising. It was a record COPPA penalty at the time.

France's CNIL issued one of the first major GDPR fines, finding that Google lacked transparency and valid consent for ads personalisation during Android device setup.