Facebook Won't Tell The 533 Million Users Their Data Was Compromised In Massive Breach

Facebook Inc. FB does not plan to notify more than 530 million users whose personal information was leaked online in a massive data breach, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing a Facebook spokesman.

What Happened: The social media company's spokesman said it was not confident on having full visibility on which users required to be notified, according to the report. While deciding not to notify users, Facebook also took into account that users could not fix the issue and the data was publicly available.

Business Insider reported last week that the personal information of 533 million Facebook users was posted on a "low level hacking forum," but didn't identify the said forum. The data included information such as phone numbers, full names and birth dates of users from 106 countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and India.

However, Facebook said in a blog post that “malicious actors” obtained this data by scraping it from its platform prior to September 2019 and not through hacking its systems. The company added that the scraped information did not include financial information, health information or passwords, and the data leak resulted from a vulnerability that was fixed in 2019.

See Also: Facebook Not Capable Of Protecting Young Users, Lawmakers Say In Opposition Of 'Instagram For Kids'

Why It Matters: The leaked data, which could be used in hacking or scamming attempts, exacerbates concerns around Facebook’s privacy rules.

The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal uncovered in early 2018 was one of the most massive data breaches in digital media's history, and significantly influenced the public discourse around data privacy. In July 2019, Facebook reached a $5 billion settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in the case.

The FTC settlement requires Facebook to document incidents when data of 500 or more users has been compromised and to report within 30 days the steps taken by the company to address the incident.

Price Action: Facebook shares closed 2.2% higher on Wednesday at $313.09.

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