Facebook was fined $660,000 by UK regulators due to the data breach

British Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham announced on Wednesday that she intends to impose a fine on Facebook for violating the data protection law. Currently, her office is investigating how the consulting firm Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained tens of millions of user data from Facebook.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has accepted questions from US and EU lawmakers who questioned how Cambridge Analytics improperly obtained personal data from 87 million Facebook users from a researcher.

In an update on the survey of the use of data analytics technology in political activities, Denham said she plans to impose a fine of 500,000 pounds (about $663,850) on Facebook, which is for Facebook, which has a market value of $590 billion. It’s a slap in the face, but this is the maximum fine allowed by the relevant laws in the UK.

Denham said that Facebook violated the law, did not protect people’s information and did not maintain sufficient transparency on how others collect data on their platforms.

Denham said in a statement: “New technologies that use data analytics to micro-target people give campaign groups the ability to connect with individual voters. But this cannot be at the expense of transparency, fairness and compliance with the law.”

Facebook can respond to the UK Information Commissioner before the final decision is made. The company said it is reviewing the report and will respond soon.

British lawmakers are investigating “fake news” and its impact on campaigning, and are increasingly paying attention to Cambridge analysis. 

Source: CNBC