An ongoing debate sees federal regulators split with regards to holding Mark Zuckerberg responsible for Facebook’s recent privacy and data issues.

According to a report from the New York Times, the Federal Trade Commission’s negotiations with Facebook are almost complete, but the agency’s five commissioners are still unsure on how to proceed with Zuckerberg.

The FTC is debating the exact financial penalty to be applied to the company, with reports expecting the fine to be upwards of $5 billion.

Correct terms

For the moment, Facebook has already agreed to a number of terms from the FTC, including recruiting privacy officials to oversee data issues, as well as having a third party oversee Facebook’s data practices.

Unfortunately, one thing still at contention is Facebook not agreeing to hold Mark Zuckerberg personally responsible for the company’s mishandling of private data.

The settlement should serve as a warning to other tech companies in Silicon Valley in relation to policies that violate the privacy of users. The investigation of Facebook was opened by the FTC after the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018.