British agency fines Facebook $660K over data leak
Social network ‘contravened the law,’ report declares
LONDON — Facebook was hit with the maximum possible fine in Britain for allowing the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to harvest the information of millions of people without their consent, in what amounts to the social network’s first financial penalty since the data leak was revealed.
The fine of about $660,000 represents a tiny sum for Facebook. But 500,000 pounds is the largest fine that can be levied by the British Information Commissioner’s Office, an independent government agency that enforces the country’s data-protection laws.
The agency has been investigating the potential misuse of personal data by political campaigns since May 2017. The examination took on new urgency after The New York Times and other organizations reported in March that Cambridge Analytica, which was based in London, had improperly gathered the data of up to 87 million Facebook users. Cambridge Analytica, which had ties to President Donald Trump’s campaign, used the information to build psychographic profiles of American voters.
In an initial report of its investigation on Tuesday, the Information Commissioner’s Office said it had concluded that “Facebook contravened the law by failing to safeguard people’s information. It also found that the company failed to be transparent about how people’s data was harvested by others.”
The fine is the first punitive action against Facebook since the reports about Cambridge Analytica surfaced. Since the revelations, Facebook has grappled with regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. Its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has appeared before Congress to answer questions about his company earlier this year and also met with European lawmakers.
In the United States, Facebook faces multiple inquiries by federal agencies. The Justice Department and the FBI each recently broadened their inquiries into Cambridge Analytica by also focusing on Facebook.
In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission has started an investigation into Facebook’s statements on the matter, and the Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether the company violated a privacy agreement with the agency.
Facebook will have a chance to respond to the Information Commissioner Office’s initial report. A full version of the report, thought to be coming Wednesday, is expected to detail the ways in which data gleaned from social media companies is increasingly being used to target voters by political campaigns.
Facebook’s chief privacy officer, Erin Egan, said the company was working with the British agency on its investigation and was reviewing the report.