Facebook fined £500,000 over Cambridge Analytica scandal

UK data watchdog says social media giant failed to safeguard its users’ personal information

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg hinted that Libra’s release could be delayed
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Facebook has been fined £500,000 by the UK’s data watchdog for allowing political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to harvest the information of millions of people without their consent.

Confirming the penalty, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said that “a company of its size and expertise should have known better and it should have done better”.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up