Facebook hit with U.K. fine over user privacy
LONDON - The chairman of the U.K. Parliament's media committee says the government office that investigated the Cambridge Analytica scandal has fined Facebook (FB) 500,000 pounds ($663,000) for failing to safeguard users' data.
Damian Collins said the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) concluded that Facebook "contravened the law by failing to safeguard people's information."
Collins said Wednesday that the company "should now make the results of their internal investigations known to the ICO, our committee and other relevant investigatory authorities."
Facebook has been under scrutiny since allegations surfaced that London-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica used data from tens of millions of Facebook accounts to help U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign.
The alleged offenses took place before the rollout of new European Union data protection laws that allow for much larger fines.