$FB - U.S. regulators approve $5 billion Facebook settlement over privacy issues: source

(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved a roughly $5 billion settlement with Facebook Inc <FB.O> this week over its investigation into the social media company's handling of user data, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

The FTC has been investigating allegations Facebook inappropriately shared information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The probe has focused on whether the sharing of data and other disputes violated a 2011 consent agreement between Facebook and the regulator.

Shares of Facebook rose after the news was reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier on Friday and closed up 1.8%. Facebook earlier this year said it had set aside $3 billion to pay for what it said it expected to be a $3 billion to $5 billion penalty.

The FTC and Facebook declined to comment.

The settlement still needs to be finalized by the Justice Department's Civil Division and a final announcement could come as early as next week, the source said.

The FTC is expected to include other government restrictions on how Facebook treats user privacy, WSJ reported.