UPDATED 01:03 EDT / JULY 03 2018

POLICY

Facebook’s data leak comes under more scrutiny from federal agencies

A new set of federal investigations is underway into Facebook Inc.’s data leak and the company’s relationship with data mining firm Cambridge Analytica.

The probes follow months of controversy and explanations by Facebook, but this is a broader investigation. This time multiple agencies will get involved, including the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, according to a report Monday in the Washington Post.

The new probe will look into various matters, mainly if Facebook lied to the public and investors about what it knew about the leak prior to the news breaking. Investigators will also scrutinize Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s sessions with Congress over the leak.

So far, the investigations have concentrated on Cambridge Analytica and how it obtained the data of around 87 million Facebook users. It was discovered that such data was collected via a personality quiz developed by professor Aleksandr Kogan, which allowed him not only to see information on respondents but their friends, too. The data was then sold to Cambridge Analytica and used to create targeted ads.

The SEC will examine how long it took Facebook to reveal its user data was being mined, while the FTC will continue its investigation of Facebook’s privacy practices and if it violated the agency’s consent decree, something that Facebook signed in 2011.

The question remains what Facebook knew about Cambridge Analytica before the scandal broke. Facebook had said it had investigated the firm and Kogan and demanded the data be deleted and not used again. President Donald Trump was a client of Cambridge Analytica, but it’s not known if its data was used during his election campaign.

Since the scandal, Facebook has been auditing thousands of apps to ensure any such data mining won’t happen again, but if investigators find Facebook guilty of transgressing in the past, it could result in fines of potentially billions of dollars.

Facebook has confirmed that it’s working with federal investigators. “We are cooperating with officials in the U.S., U.K. and beyond,” said Facebook spokesman Matt Steinfeld. “We’ve provided public testimony, answered questions, and pledged to continue our assistance as their work continues.”

Image: Sole Treadmill via Flickr

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