Facebook acknowledges that it shared data of some inactive users with third-party apps, says the issue has now been fixed
Following the Cambridge Analytica fiasco in 2018, Facebook announced that for data security, it will automatically expire an app’s ability to receive any updates to user information if Facebook's system doesn't recognise a person as having used the app within the last 90 days. However, in a recent blog post Facebook has revealed that despite that being the policy, it wrongly shared the personal data of some inactive users for longer than 90 days.
Facebook says that from the past several months, approximately 5,000 third-party app developers continued to receive the data that people had previously authorised, even after they were inactive on Facebook for over 90 days. This data could include information like language, gender, email address, etc.
Facebook, however, claims: "We haven’t seen evidence that this issue resulted in sharing information that was inconsistent with the permissions people gave when they logged in using Facebook."
Facebook says it fixed the issue the day after it was found.
Facebook has further also announced new Platform Terms and Developer Policies,, which would "limit the information developers can share with third parties without explicit consent from people." The policies will apparently also "strengthen data security requirements and clarify when developers must delete data."
Currently, Facebook is facing heat for not doing enough to stop hate speech on its platforms. A handful of US companies have pulled advertising from Facebook Inc in support of a campaign called Stop Hate for Profit, which was started by several US civil rights groups after the death of African American George Floyd in police custody triggered widespread protests against racial discrimination in the United States.
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