Information Extraction
Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal: how to find out if your data was compromised
There are three basic categories of response. That's great news, but Facebook is still investigating other companies, so don't do a celebration dance just yet, because more news is likely coming. There's also a chance that you downloaded and used the This Is Your Digital Life app through which researchers were able to directly collect data. If this is the case, all of the people with whom you were friends around 2015 were also affected. The final option is the message pictured above.
How To Check If Your Facebook Data Was Used By Cambridge Analytica
This week, Facebook began notifying people whether they had ever logged in to the "This Is Your Digital Life" app -- which has been linked to the exposure of tens of millions of records for political research. This week, Facebook began notifying people whether they had ever logged in to the "This Is Your Digital Life" app -- which has been linked to the exposure of tens of millions of records for political research. Facebook users have begun to see whether they're among the 87 million people whose information may have been compromised for use by a political research firm. For some, the news is good: "It doesn't appear your Facebook information was shared with Cambridge Analytica." The notifications are appearing on Facebook's page about users' exposed data.
Facebook Is Telling People Their Data Was Misused by Cambridge Analytica and They're Furious
Facebook began alerting some users that their personal information was accessed during the Cambridge Analytica data breach, and suffice to say, Facebook users aren't happy. Some 87 million people are estimated to have possibly been affected by the Facebook Cambridge Analytica data breach, a higher number than the social media giant originally anticipated. Last week, Facebook announced that users who may have had their data misused by Cambridge Analytica would get a detailed message via their News Feed on Monday. Facebook has said most of the affected users are in the U.S., though there are over a million each in the Philippines, Indonesia and the U.K. Now users are taking to social media to reveal whether or not their personal information was obtained during the data breach, screen-shotting their Facebook notification. "Facebook sold me out to Cambridge Analytica too," one user wrote on Twitter.
Zuckerberg faces senators to explain Facebook data breaches, Russia election meddling
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify at two Capitol Hill hearings this week over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and we asked our tech reporter why that matters. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (center) walks out of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office after their meeting on Capitol Hill. WASHINGTON -- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying for the first time ever before Congress on Tuesday as he attempts to apologize for high-profile privacy breaches at the social media giant and convince doubtful lawmakers that he can fix the problem without government intervention. Zuckerberg is trying to restore public confidence after recent revelations that data from up to 87 million Facebook users was shared with Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm used by the Trump campaign in the 2016 election. The information was shared without users' knowledge.
Check right now if Cambridge Analytica used your Facebook data
In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, you're probably wondering: Was I actually affected? After all, the company obtained data on 87 million users (that's the current estimate, anyway.) Facebook has, thankfully, started sending News Feed notifications to explain whether users' accounts were affected. If you're still waiting for yours to come through, however, you can visit this page and find out immediately. In short, it explains if you or your friends ever logged into This Is Your Digital Life -- the quiz app developed by university researcher Dr Aleksandr Kogan, which Cambridge Analytica used to profile and manipulate users.
Facebook's bounty program offers rewards for reporting data abuse
It's an understatement that Facebook has found itself in some hot water lately in regard to data privacy, thanks to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg is testifying in front of Congress today and tomorrow in regard to the company's actions and the ways it has used personal data. Today, Facebook introduced the Data Abuse Bounty program, which will reward the social network's users for reporting apps that misuse data. If someone has proof or first-hand knowledge about an app violating Facebook's terms of service by collecting and transferring people's data to another party, whether for money, political influence or scams, they can notify Facebook through this program. If the tip pans out, Facebook will "shut down the offending app and take legal action against the company selling or buying the data, if necessary."
How to check if Facebook shared your personal info with Cambridge Analytica
Was your Facebook data shared with Cambridge Analytica? The political research firm harvested the personal information of roughly 87 million people to target American voters, using a personality quiz called "This Is Your Digital Life" that scraped the Facebook data of you and your friends. The revelation sparked big changes in the way Facebook handles third-party apps, and the social network recently started notifying users who had their information scooped up. If you haven't seen the prompt in your News Feed, you can check if your Facebook data was shared with Cambridge Analytica by logging into the network and visiting this help page. The section titled "Was my information shared?"
Facebook data breach hits 63,714 New Zealanders after 10 people download quiz
Ten New Zealanders who downloaded an app on Facebook could have exposed up to 63,714 of their compatriots to the data mining tactics of Cambridge Analytica. Facebook has told the country's privacy commissioner that it is in the process of alerting New Zealanders who were affected by the breach, which occurred when ten users downloaded a personality quiz app. "For New Zealand, we estimate a total of 63,724 people may have been impacted โ 10 are estimated to have downloaded the quiz app with 63,714 friends possibly impacted," said Antonia Sanda, head of communications for Facebook in Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand's privacy commissioner, John Edwards, said he was urgently seeking further information from Facebook on how New Zealanders data was used by Cambridge Analytica, and is working closely with his counterparts in the US, UK Australia and Canada to establish the severity and ramifications of the privacy beach. "I think we have some real information deficits that I hope my colleagues in the UK and the US will uncover ... I am not sure New Zealanders were'targeted' but I think there is a level of complacency [in New Zealand]. And when you say we're so far away, we're only one click away really," Edwards said.
Cambridge Analytica tries to shoot down Facebook data sharing claims
Cambridge Analytica is facing incredible pressure over the Facebook data sharing scandal -- and not surprisingly, it's determined to share its version of events before Mark Zuckerberg testifies in congressional hearings. The company has posted a "series of facts" that challenge some of the allegations made against the company. Not surprisingly, it started by insisting that it didn't do anything illegal: GSR "legally obtained" the data about Facebook users, and "did not illegally or inappropriately" scoop up and share data. Later on, it maintained that it "only collects data with informed consent." After that, Cambridge Analytica jumped into specifics.