OAIC probing Facebook over data privacy

Acting Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk has opened a formal investigation into whether Facebook breached the Privacy Act in connection to the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal.

The investigation was launched after Facebook confirmed that information on over 300,000 Australian users may have been acquired and used without authorisation, Falk said.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner will confer with other regulatory authorities internationally as part of the investigation.

Falk noted that all organisations governed by the Privacy Act must fulfil obligations including taking reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is held securely and ensuring that customers are adequately notified about the collection and handling of their personal information.

“This is a timely reminder to all organisations of the value of good privacy practice to Australians. Organisations should regularly and proactively assess their information-handling practices to ensure that they are both compliant with privacy laws and in keeping with community expectations,” she said.

Facebook attracted a firestorm of criticism following the revelations that Cambridge Analytica acquired Facebook profile data from citizens in countries including the US, UK and Australia, culled from the friends lists of people paid to take a survey, and used the information to develop highly targeted advertising on behalf of various political clients.

The company is alleged to have helped the Trump campaign effectively target swing voters to clinch the US election and helped support the Brexit campaign during the UK referendum.

It has since also emerged that Facebook approached both the Labor and Liberal parties with an opportunity to use a powerful data matching tool to more effectively target swing voters.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/peshkova

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook