Facebook to pay record $5 bn US fine over privacy; faces antitrust probe

Facebook Inc will pay a record-breaking $5 billion fine to resolve a government probe into its privacy practices and will boost safeguards on user data, the US Federal Trade Commission and the social media company said on Wednesday.

After the stock market closed, Facebook disclosed as a part of its earnings report that the FTC told it last month that the commission had opened a separate antitrust investigation of the company. The FTC, which early in the day issued a statement and held a press conference about the privacy settlement, did not mention an antitrust probe.