Facebook may shared personal data of 87m people with Cambridge Analytica – not the 50m previously thought
Facebook today admitted almost 30m more people than previously thought may have had their personal data handed over to Cambridge Analytica.
Some 87m, most of which were from the US, may have had information improperly shared. Previously, the social media giant estimated a figure of 50m.
Chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer revealed the increased numbers as part of a blog post detailing how Facebook plans to restrict data access going forward.
Stricter access to private groups and events will be implemented. Call and text history logs more than one year old will be deleted and details, such as the time of calls made, will not be collected.
Schroepfer wrote:
Overall, we believe these changes will better protect people’s information while still enabling developers to create useful experiences. We know we have more work to do — and we’ll keep you updated as we make more changes.
Read more: Mark Zuckerberg to testify before US congress
Which countries had the most information shared?
(Source: Facebook)
The blog post comes as Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee next week.
The committee said it will be examining the misuse of data by political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica during the US 2016 election.
The social media giant has come under fire after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica had been harvesting the data for years, and used the information to influence voters by creating and sharing divisive content online.
Read more: Zuckerberg hits back at Apple CEO Tim Cook
The panel’s Republican chairman Greg Walden and top Democrat Frank Pallone said: “This hearing will be an important opportunity to shed light on critical consumer data privacy issues and help all Americans better understand what happens to their personal information online.”