Facebook's data privacy saga just had a major new plot twist.
The social media giant confirmed in a press conference that data of 87 million Facebook users was violated by Cambridge Analytica.
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Why should anybody care about this? Because just a couple of weeks ago, when Facebook's data privacy scandal broke, it was widely reported that data of 50 million Facebook users was illegally obtained by Cambridge Analytica (by purchasing a third-party Facebook app which collected the data) to create psychological profiles and better target individual users on Facebook to influence the 2016 US Presidential election in favour of Donald Trump.
Facebook's chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer made the announcement in a statement announcing the implementation of new privacy tools for users of the huge social network.
Reuters
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Starting on Monday, Facebook will roll out new tools to its users to better understand privacy and data sharing on the platform, according to Mike Schroepfer. Facebook's terms of service are also being fixed to offer a clearer picture on user data sharing and how advertising is targeted.
The changes are expected to tighten how Facebook app developers and third party advertisers can access user data and research the habits of Facebook members.
Facebook is currently facing regulatory investigations in the US and UK over alleged privacy breach of its user data, and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to testify next week before a congressional panel on the matter.