Brazil fines Facebook over data breach
Brazil has fined US tech giant Facebook 6.6m reais (£1.24m) for improperly sharing data after the information of more than 400,000 users was made available to app developers.
Brazil’s Ministry of Justice said it found that data from 443,000 Facebook users was made improperly available to developers of an app called “thisisyourdigitallife”.
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The ministry said the data was being shared for “questionable” purposes, and the social networking site failed to provide users with information on default privacy settings.
Facebook did not respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
The ministry launched its investigation following reports of the misuse of data by political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica last year.
Facebook has 10 days to appeal the decision, and the fine should be paid within 30 days.
The fine is the latest in a string of privacy controversies to hit the social media giant in recent years.
The company is being investigated by 47 states in the US over concerns about anti-competitive practices, the exposure of consumer data to thieves and advertising practices.
In July it was reported that Facebook was about to be slapped with a $5bn fine over data privacy violations.