The attorney general of the District of Columbia today sued Facebook Inc. for not protecting user privacy during the scandal involving the campaign data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica.

“Facebook failed to protect the privacy of its users and deceived them about who had access to their data and how it was used,” said Karl Racine. “Facebook put users at risk of manipulation by allowing companies like Cambridge Analytica and other third-party applications to collect personal data without users’ permission.”

The scandal in question began in March this year after it was revealed that Facebook had allowed millions of profiles to be harvested by data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica without users’ permission. Facebook has since found itself under investigation inside the U.S. and abroad, but this lawsuit is the first action of its kind taken by government regarding the incident.

The lawsuit states that Facebook violated the Consumer Protection Procedures Act by allowing the data leak to happen. The attorney general’s office will ask for civil penalties, with a maximum of $5,000 per violation. It’s reported that about 340,000 people in the District of Columbia could have been victim of the leak, meaning Facebook could potentially be fined $1.7 billion.

“We think change clearly needs to take place at that company,” said Racine. The lawsuit adds the reprimand that it’s there to make “Facebook live up to its promise to protect its users’ privacy.”

Facebook might well change its spots, but it could be a case of being too little too late. At around the same time that the lawsuit was announced, another bombshell report emerged. This time it was reported that Facebook’s data-sharing deals with partner companies were another breach of its users’ privacy.

After that, David Cicilline, congressman for the 1st District of Rhode Island, tweeted, “Zuckerberg told Congress that Facebook users had ‘complete control’ over their data. Sure looks like he lied.”

As for the lawsuit, Facebook said in a statement, “We’re reviewing the complaint and look forward to continuing our discussions with attorneys general in D.C. and elsewhere.”

Image: shopcatalog/Flickr