Facebook Faces Intensifying Pressure From Washington on Privacy
- Washington, DC suit adds to calls for rules to rein in company
- Shares extend decline begun following NY Times privacy report
Facebook Inc. faces growing pressure over its privacy protections as the District of Columbia sued Wednesday over its handling of user data, exemplified by the privacy breach in which personal information of millions of Americans was transferred to Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm hired by President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
The suit alleges Facebook violated the district’s Consumer Protection and Procedures Act as a result of lax oversight of the company’s third-party applications. It came just hours after an explosive New York Times report that the social media giant had allowed, even after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, more than 150 companies to access more users’ personal data than it had disclosed, prompting renewed calls for Congress to act.