FTC May Require Facebook Privacy Features Be Opt-In

Facebook and the FTC are apparently near a settlement over allegations that the social network misled users when it altered privacy settings in 2009. Under the settlement, Facebook would need “express affirmative consent” to make “material retroactive changes,” insiders tell the Wall Street Journal. Translation from Business Insider: All new privacy features would have to be of the opt-in variety.

The company also would face two decades of independent privacy audits. Mark Zuckerberg called the 2009 changes a “simpler model for privacy control,” but they made a number of Facebook profile sections public as the default setting. The concessions look to be similar to those that Google agreed to earlier this year. (More Facebook stories.)