The Cambridge Analytica scandal continues to splash Facebook. The Brazilian government announced on Monday December 30 that it had fined 6.6 million reais (around 1.5 million euros) for the American social network for "Improperly sharing user data".
The Department of Consumer Protection and Defense (DPDC), which reports to the Ministry of Justice, considers that Facebook has been guilty of "Abusive practice" by allowing Cambridge Analytica to have access to the personal data of 443,000 Brazilian internet users who have downloaded an application for psychological tests.
Cambridge Analytica found itself in 2018 at the heart of a scandal that seriously damaged the reputation of the largest social network in the world. The latter indeed estimated that the personal data of 87 million people around the world had been collected and used without consent by Cambridge Analytica, even if this company denies any embezzlement.
Multiplication of fines
Facebook reacted to the announcement of the Brazilian government’s fine by saying that there were no "No evidence that Brazilian user data was transferred to Cambridge Analytica". "We have made changes to our platform in order to restrict the information accessible to the companies that develop the applications"added Facebook, which has ten days to appeal and one month to pay the fine.
In June, the social network was already fined a record $ 5 billion in the United States for failing to protect the personal data of its users. Other countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy have also ordered Facebook to pay fines in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
In September, Facebook announced that it had suspended tens of thousands of applications that potentially posed a privacy risk to its users.
