UK Data Watchdog Fines Facebook Maximum £500,000 for Cambridge Analytica Breach
The Information Commissioner's Office, the lead agency for data protection in England, has issued the maximum £500,000 fine on Facebook for failing to secure user data from Cambridge Analytica. ICO investigations found that Cambridge Analytica harvested 87 million Facebook users' personal data to target ads for political purposes, and that Facebook did not compel the deletion of this data to prevent further misuses. Facebook was charged with two violations of the UK Data Protection Act 1998: "failing to safeguard people's information [and] failing to be transparent about how people's data was harvested by others and why they might be targeted by a political party or campaign." ICO also told other companies that served online political ads during the EU Brexit Referendum to stop processing UK citizens' data. In March and April, EPIC told the FTC and Congress that the Cambridge Analytica breach could have been prevented if the FTC had enforced the 2011 Consent Order with Facebook. The FTC is currently investigating Facebook but has never imposed any fines against the company.
July 11, 2018| Share:
