Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission which had lately investigated the Cambridge Analytics incident issued a statement on Monday, advising the US technology firm Facebook Inc. to protect the data of its users in a better way.
The statement was issued in response to Facebook’s acknowledgement earlier this year for its lapse in security, which allowed the British political firm, Cambridge Analytics, that worked for Donald Trump who was a candidate for the Presidential elections back then, to improperly access the data meant to be personal and thus properly secured, of approximately 87 million users in the year 2016.
The Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan confirmed that information that around 100,000 Facebook users of Japan have been affected by the Cambridge scandal and that the cyber attack may also have had an impact on these users of Japan.
The Commission has issued a statement to Facebook regarding the cyber attack and the consequential data leak the very first time. The statement was in the form of a request which is not legally binding in any form and also doesn’t encase any orders from administration or penalties.
Instead, the government has provided Facebook with a set of guidelines that would help the social media giant to improve its protection and thereby better protect the personal data of its users. The government has also asked Facebook to communicate the security issues properly with the users and also increase the surveillance of providers of applications on its platform. Further, the government has also requested Facebook that in case of change in security measures, it must inform the regulators.
Facebook, in return has promised to inform the users promptly if inappropriate use of its platform takes place in future, it has also given details as to how it will address the request and has ensured cooperation with the regulators of not just the commission of Japan but also with other countries as well.
Source: The New York Times, Reuters.com
