Tech
Australian govt moves to probe Facebook
The Australian government has confirmed it will open an official investigation into the Facebook data scandal that saw data from 87 million Facebook user accounts shared with Cambridge Analytica.
While the majority of users affected by the Cambridge Analytica fiasco were based in the US, Australia was the 10th worst country hit, according to figures released Thursday by Facebook.
It’s the latest revelation in what has been a tough month for Facebook, after it was revealed data from millions of Facebook users was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, a digital consultancy with ties to the Trump presidential campaign.
Read also: Tech firms under pressure by civil liberties group to take ‘security pledge’
The original number of accounts was estimated at 50 million, but Facebook revised this figure upward to 87 million on Thursday. Of these, Facebook estimated 300,000 accounts belonged to Australians.
As a result, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has confirmed it will conduct an investigation to determine whether Facebook breached Australia’s Privacy Act.
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