UK watchdog fines Facebook US$644,000 over Cambridge Analytica user data breach
- Data authority said Facebook processed personal information of users unfairly by giving developers access to it without informed consent
The ICO’s investigation found that between 2007 to 2014, Facebook processed the personal information of users unfairly by giving app developers access to their information without informed consent.
These failings meant one developer, Aleksandr Kogan, and his company, GSR, harvested the Facebook data of up to 87 million people worldwide without their knowledge. Kogan’s app allowed Cambridge Analytica to access the data.
The ICO found that the personal information of at least 1 million UK users was among harvested data.
“Even after the misuse of the data was discovered in December 2015, Facebook did not do enough to ensure those who continued to hold it had taken adequate and timely remedial action, including deletion,” said the ICO report. “In the case of SCL Group, Facebook did not suspend the company from its platform until 2018.”
