Australian Information Commissioner sues Facebook for violating its users’ privacy

Facebook is under litigation again as the privacy regulator of Australia announced its lawsuit against the social media giant on Monday. The regulator accused Facebook of breaching the privacy of its users as it shared their personal details with Cambridge Analytica.

Cambridge Analytica Used Its “This Is Your Digital Life” Survey On Facebook

According to the Australian Information Commissioner’s statement in the Federal Court, Cambridge Analytica used its “This Is Your Digital Life” survey on Facebook to receive personal details of 311,127 users. The information was then used by the British firm for political profiling. Angelene Falk, the current Australian Information Commissioner remarked:

“The design of the Facebook platform meant that users were unable to exercise reasonable choice and control about how their personal information was disclosed.”

The penalty is so far not specified in the lawsuit. The Commissioner, however, accentuated that a maximum of A$1.7 million can be expected in damages per breach of user privacy. In an event that the Court decides to impose the maximum penalty per user, Facebook could be seeing a massive A$529 billion to be paid in damages.

Facebook’s representative in Australia is yet to comment on the news.

The aforementioned personality quiz was previously accused of privacy breach in the United States. Following the litigation, the U.S Federal Trade Commission had decided last July in favor of imposing a record $5 billion penalty on Facebook.

On a global level, Facebook is accused to have violated the privacy rights of over 87 million users. The personal details of the users received via the survey tool were shared with Cambridge Analytica. The British political consultancy firm had the 2016 election campaign of the U.S President Donald Trump on its portfolio. The firm currently stands defunct.

Facebook Didn’t Play Its Role In Ensuring Protection Of Its Users’ Data

Cambridge Analytica announced to have registered in Australia following Trump’s election campaign in 2016. The firm, however, was never reported to have been working with any of the political parties in Australia.

As per the lawsuit by the Australian regulation authority, Facebook was unaware of the kind of data that was being received with “This Is Your Digital Life” survey by Cambridge Analytics. The social media giant, however, failed to play its role in ensuring greater protection of the personal details of its users.

At the time of writing, Facebook is exchanging hands at $180 per share in the stock market that translates to around 15% decline in 2020 so far.