Sheryl Sandberg says users would have to pay to opt out of all Facebook ads

Sheryl Sandberg.
(Image credit: Jacques Demarathon/AFP/Getty Images)

Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, says the company would have to charge users if they want to opt out of data-driven advertising on the social media platform.

During an interview with Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, Sandberg said Facebook does not sell or give away information on users, but "our service depends on your data." On Wednesday, Facebook revealed that up to 87 million users had their personal information improperly shared with the data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica leading up to the 2016 presidential election, and Sandberg acknowledged to Guthrie that Facebook did not properly handle the breach.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.