EU wants to know whether Facebook scandal also involved data EU citizens

Vera Jourova, the EU’s Justice Commissioner, wants to know from Facebook whether the Cambridge scandal also involved data from EU citizens. The European Commission wants clarity on this within two weeks.

To that end, she has sent a letter to Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer. According to Reuters, which reports having seen the letter, if data from EU citizens was part of the scandal, Jourova also wants to know how Facebook will inform the authorities and the affected citizens. A Facebook spokesperson said the company remains strongly committed to protecting people’s privacy and will respond to inquiries.

In the letter, Jourova is said to have said that trust in Facebook has declined and that statements from Facebook executives have not allayed her concerns. The Commissioner also wants to know whether the social media platform is sure that a similar situation can no longer occur and whether stricter rules are needed.

On Monday, it emerged that the US Federal Trade Commission will investigate Facebook’s actions to protect privacy. Last week, the European Parliament announced a similar inquiry.

The investigations follow the scandal surrounding Cambridge Analytica, a British company that obtained the data of 50 million Facebook users. This was done by buying the data from the developer of a Facebook app that had been consulted by several hundred thousand users.