April 9 (UPI) — Starting Monday, Facebook will begin letting users know if their personal data was shared with a company accused of using it to post political ads for President Donald Trump.
Facebook users will be will be notified at the top of their News Feeds with a link titled “Protecting your information.” Facebook users will see what apps they use — and the information they have shared with those apps.
The social media company will also notify users if their data were shared with Cambridge Analytica. Facebook believes the London-based research firm collected the data of up to 87 million people in the United States, Philippines, Indonesia and more.
Cambridge University academic Aleksandr Kogan and his company Global Science Research used the quiz app “This Is Your Digital Life” to gather data on users and shared the data with Cambridge Analytica.
Following the scandal, Facebook unveiled changes to its privacy settings to make it easier for users to control what they share, and allow them to delete collected information.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify in the House Wednesday to answer questions about how the site protects user data.
Facebook also announced a new initiative Monday to help research the role social media plays in elections.
“First, we think it’s an important new model for partnerships between industry and academia,” Facebook said in a statement. “Second, the last two years have taught us that the same Facebook tools that help politicians connect with their constituents — and different communities debate the issues they care about — can also be misused to manipulate and deceive.”
The site says it won’t review or approve any research prior to publication.
Facebook and Cambridge Analytica are both facing a class-action lawsuit and the Federal Trade Commission is planning an investigation into the matter.
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