CanadaB次元官网网址檚 privacy czar said Thursday that he is taking Facebook to court after finding that lax practices at the social media giant allowed personal information to be used for political purposes.
A joint report from privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien and his British Columbia counterpart said major shortcomings were uncovered in FacebookB次元官网网址檚 procedures. It called for stronger laws to protect Canadians.
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The commissioners expressed dismay that Facebook had rebuffed their findings and recommendations.
Facebook insisted it took the investigation seriously. The company said it offered to enter into a compliance agreement.
The Canadian report comes as IrelandB次元官网网址檚 privacy regulator is investigating Facebook over the companyB次元官网网址檚 recent revelation that it had left hundreds of millions of user passwords exposed.
The Canadian probe followed reports that Facebook let an outside organization use an app to access usersB次元官网网址� personal information and that some of the data was then passed to others. Recipients of the information included the firm Cambridge Analytica.
The app, at one point known as B次元官网网址淭his is Your Digital Life,B次元官网网址� encouraged users to complete a personality quiz but collected much more information about those who installed the app as well as data about their Facebook friends, the commissioners said.
About 300,000 Facebook users worldwide added the app, leading to the potential disclosure of the personal information of approximately 87 million others, including more than 600,000 Canadians, the report said.
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The commissioners concluded that Facebook broke CanadaB次元官网网址檚 privacy law governing companies by failing to obtain valid and meaningful consent of installing users and their friends and that it had B次元官网网址渋nadequate safeguardsB次元官网网址� to protect user information.
Despite its public acknowledgment of a B次元官网网址渕ajor breach of trustB次元官网网址� in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook disputes the reportB次元官网网址檚 findings and refuses to implement recommendations, the commissioners said.
B次元官网网址淔acebookB次元官网网址檚 refusal to act responsibly is deeply troubling given the vast amount of sensitive information people have entrusted to this company,B次元官网网址� Therrien said. B次元官网网址淭he companyB次元官网网址檚 privacy framework was empty.B次元官网网址�
Therrien reiterated his longstanding call for the Canadian government to give him authority to issue binding orders to companies and levy fines for non-compliance with the law. In addition, he wants powers to inspect the practices of organizations.
The office of Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, the Cabinet member responsible for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 private-sector privacy law, said the government would take concrete actions on privacy in coming weeks.
Facebook Canada spokeswoman Erin Taylor said the company was disappointed that Therrien considers the issues unresolved.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no evidence that CanadiansB次元官网网址� data was shared with Cambridge Analytica, and weB次元官网网址檝e made dramatic improvements to our platform to protect peopleB次元官网网址檚 personal information,B次元官网网址� Taylor said.
B次元官网网址淲e understand our responsibility to protect peopleB次元官网网址檚 personal information, which is why weB次元官网网址檝e proactively taken important steps toward tackling a number of issues raised in the report.B次元官网网址�
If the application to Federal Court is successful, it could lead to modest fines and an order for Facebook to revamp its privacy practices, Therrien said.
Also on Thursday, the New York State Attorney GeneralB次元官网网址檚 Office announced that it is investigating the companyB次元官网网址檚 unauthorized collection of the email contacts of 1.5 million users. Facebook has previously acknowledged that it unintentionally uploaded the contacts.
The Menlo Park, California, said it is B次元官网网址渋n touch with the New York State attorney generalB次元官网网址檚 office and (is) responding to their questions on this matter.B次元官网网址�
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The Associated Press
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