Our favorite social media behemoth Facebook, has reached a deal with the US Federal Trade Commission over allegations it had a deceptive privacy policy. Under the proposed US settlement Facebook will have to submit to independent privacy audits but will not have to fix what it has done in the past. Facebook has agreed to notify users about changes to privacy settings and to submit to external privacy audits for the next 20 years. The deal must still be upheld by a US court, but it is a capitulation of sorts by the company in the face of widespread outrage from its 800 million users. Facebook’s relaxed privacy settings have had a major impact on people’s lives. In one high-profile case a man bought an engagement ring for his partner online and it automatically showed up on his profile. His partner found out before the man had a chance to get down on one knee and pop the question. Now those surprises will have to stop. M★S READ MORE