Australia is investigating whether Facebook violated national privacy laws by exposing users’ information to the data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica.
Facebook has acknowledged that data from more than 300,000 Australians may have been improperly shared with the analysis company — out of some 87 million users worldwide.
Australia’s acting privacy commissioner, Angelene Falk, says she has opened a formal investigation into whether Facebook broke the law by failing to secure personal information.
“If Facebook has breached [Australia’s] Privacy Act, it could face a fine of up to $1.5 million,” Louisa Lim reports for NPR from Melbourne. “But the company’s already lost $100 billion in market value since the scandal broke.”
A Facebook spokeswoman in Australia told Reuters that the company will be “fully responsive” to the investigation.