Facebook pays $645,000 fine over British data protection case

Facebook has agreed to pay a 500,000-pound ($645,000) fine to Britain’s data protection watchdog without admitting liability for alleged serious breaches linked to the Cambridge Analytica Scandal, the watchdog said on Wednesday.
Between 2007 and 2014, Facebook processed user data unfairly by allowing app developers to access the data without explicit and informed consent, the Information Commissioner’s Office ruled.
Facebook appealed that decision, while the information commissioner appealed a tribunal ruling that it should disclose documents from its investigation.
Both sides have agreed to drop their appeals and Facebook has promised to pay the fine but has made no admission of liability, the commissioner said.
Deputy Commissioner, James Dipple-Johnstone said that, since the case began, he was pleased to hear that Facebook has taken, and will continue to take, significant steps to comply with the fundamental principles of data protection.
The British watchdog launched its investigation in the wake of Facebook’s admission that it improperly shared the personal data of millions of users with Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm based in London.
Cambridge Analytica used the data in 2016 to support the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, as well as for U.S President Donald Trump’s election campaign.
“As we have said before, we wish we had done more to investigate claims about Cambridge Analytica in 2015.
“We made major changes to our platform back then, significantly restricting the information which app developers could access,’’ Facebook lawyer Harry Kinmonth said in a statement via the watchdog.