NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on Facebook’s privacy scandal (all times local):
9:40 a.m.
Sheryl Sandberg says Facebook should have conducted an audit after learning that a political consultancy improperly accessed user data nearly three years ago.
The company’s chief operating officer told NBC’s “Today” show that Facebook is now undertaking that audit. Sandberg said that at the time, Facebook received legal assurances that Cambridge Analytica had deleted the improperly obtained information.
She says, “What we didn’t do is the next step of an audit and we’re trying to that now.”
The company is facing a global backlash over the improper data-sharing scandal. Hearings over the issue are scheduled in the U.S., and the European Union is considering what actions to take against the company.
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6:45 a.m.
The European Union says that Facebook has told it that up to 2.7 million people in the 28-nation bloc may have been victim of improper data sharing involving political data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica.
EU spokesman Christian Wigand said Friday that EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova will have a telephone call with Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, early next week to address the massive data leaks.
The EU and Facebook will be looking at what changes the social media giant needs to make to better protect users and how the U.S. company must adapt to new EU data protection rules.
Wigand said that EU data protection authorities will discuss over the coming days “a strong coordinated approach” on how to deal with the Facebook investigation.
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5 a.m.
Civil society and rights groups in Myanmar say Facebook has failed to adequately act against online hate speech that incites violence against the country’s Muslim minority.
Phandeeyar, a digital innovation lab, and five other groups wrote an open letter to Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, challenging his contention in a recent interview that the social media platform had effectively combated hate speech targeting the Rohingya community that’s being persecuted in western Myanmar.
Htaike Htaike Aung, executive director of one of the groups, Myanmar ICT for Development Organization, says Facebook has been a useful tool for people in Myanmar to exercise freedom of expression, but it had failed to effectively enforce rules to make it a safe community for all.
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4:15 a.m.
Indonesia says Facebook is being investigated over the privacy breach of its Indonesian users.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology says in a statement Friday it has asked the National Police to investigate possible violations of Indonesia’s privacy law a day after Facebook announced that personal data of more than 1 million Indonesians might have been exposed by political consultant Cambridge Analytica.
It says Facebook representatives in Indonesia could face up to 12 years in prison and a fine of $871,000, if convicted.
The ministry has summoned the representatives late Thursday and asked Facebook to stop its applications that could allow third parties to get users’ personal information.
Facebook Indonesia Head of Public Policy Ruben Hattari says they will keep cooperating with the Indonesian government.
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