Facebook Faces U.K. Fine Over Cambridge Analytica Inquiry

Facebook Faces U.K. Fine Over Cambridge Analytica Inquiry
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Facebook could be fined 500,000 pounds by the U.K.’s privacy regulator after the social-network giant failed to prevent key user data falling into the hands of Cambridge Analytica, according to Bloomberg.

The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office is threatening the company with the maximum penalty allowed, it said issuing its first findings in a probe that looked at some 30 organizations, including social-media platforms such as Facebook. The tech giant is accused of not properly protecting user data and not sharing how people’s data was harvested by others.

“Facebook has failed to provide the kinds of protections they’re required to do under data protection laws,“ Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said on a call with reporters. The fine “sends a clear signal that I consider this a significant issue, especially when you look at the scale and the impact of this kind of data breach.“

The revelations that data belonging to as many as 87 million Facebook users and their friends may have been misused is a “ game changer“ in the world of data protection, Denham said. Her office is leading the European investigations into how such an amount of data could have ended up in the hands of a consulting firm that worked on Donald J. Trump’s U.S. presidential campaign. Facebook will get a chance to respond to the proposed penalties before the ICO releases a final decision.