In a 3-1-1 vote (three approvals, one dissent, and one not participating), the Federal Trade Commission  (FTC) has accepted final terms of a settlement with Facebook to resolve charges that the social networking site engaged in deceptive privacy practices. Terms of the settlement do include a monetary fine, as was the case with Google, which agreed to pay a record $22.5 million penalty to the FTC to settle a different set of alleged privacy violations.

Confidence in Mark Zuckerberg's ability to navigate his social networking ship through rough financial waters is beginning to waver. Investors reacted negatively to Facebook's second quarter financial report, sending shares of the social network down almost 15 percent in after market trading, after it had already dipped 8 percent during regular trading hours on Thursday.

Good old Uncle Sam can be awfully nosy when he wants to be. The U.S. government poking its head into personal affairs isn't news to most, but it is reiterated by Twitter's first ever transparency report, which was released on Monday just two days ahead of July 4th, otherwise known as Independence Day in the States. Not by coincidence, Twitter notes "July 4th serves an important reminder of the need to hold governments responsible, especially on behalf of those who may not have a chance to do so themselves." Let the fireworks begin.

If you're a LinkedIn user, you may want to consider changing up your password today, as well as those of any other accounts that share the same login credentials. While nothing has yet been confirmed, LinkedIn said it's currently "looking into reports of stolen passwords," reports of which are flowing through Twitter and other areas of the Internet, as well as on a Russian forum where one member claims he uploaded 6,458,020 hashed passwords.