Nicholas Richard — Analyst, Global Industry

Facebook

Facebook’s high profile hiring of former UK Deputy PM Nick Clegg into its strategy team is indicative of one thing — the fear of impending regulations. Although the UK’s recent fine over the Cambridge Analytica scandal was a laughable slap on the wrist, the EU’s new GDPR regulations puts the company at a much greater regulatory risk on the Continent as fines can reach upwards of 4% of revenue under the new laws. Nick Clegg was hired with the promise that he would be contribute to the company’s strategy. How well this promise is kept and how much Clegg is willing to compromise his past criticism of the social network will be one of the many interesting factors that shape the company’s future as it finds itself less and less untouchable in the realm of politics.

October 25 — Facebook Gets Maximum Fine Over its Big Data Scandal. It Won’t Even Notice

The UK government has fined Facebook with its maximum penalty of £500,000 (US$640,000) over the company’s mishandling of customer data in the Cambridge Analytica Scandal.

The fine is regarded as a trifling amount, and Facebook has yet to agree to pay it. However under new GDPR laws, a similar penalty in the future could amount to a fine of over US$1 billion for the company.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/25/tech/facebook-fine-data-scandal/index.html

October 19 — Facebook Hires Nick Clegg as Head of Global Affairs