Facebook Suspends Apps in Cambridge Analytica-Related Probe; FPF Seeks FTC Probe

Facebook suspended tens of thousands of apps from some 400 developers Friday in an investigation related to its Cambridge Analytica privacy breach. The company analyzed millions of apps, and the investigation is ongoing, said Vice President-Product Partnerships Ime Archibong. Many apps were in their “testing phase,” or didn’t respond to requests for information, he said. Others were banned “completely,” he said. Reasons for the latter included “inappropriately sharing data obtained from us, making data publicly available without protecting people’s identity or something else that was in clear violation of our policies.” The FTC should investigate the app developers, said Future of Privacy Forum CEO Jules Polonetsky: “If apps that misuse Facebook members’ data escape legal penalty, developers will get the message that there is no legal risk to improper data-sharing. Every company, and especially app developers, needs to understand that there are consequences for abusing consumer data.” The agency declined comment.