Facebook's privacy practices are under investigation, FTC confirms

Facebook could face huge fines as Federal Trade Commission confirms inquiry into whether the company engaged in 'unfair acts'

Facebook's privacy practices are under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission following a week of scandals and public outrage over the company's failure to protect the personal information of tens of millions of users.

"The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook," said Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection in a statement on Monday noting that the investigation would include whether the company engaged in "unfair acts that cause substantial injury to consumers".