It was claimed that Facebook leaked the data of around 533 million users (8 million being Brazilian users). Information that was leaked included:
- Telephone numbers
- Emails
- Names
- Dates of birth
- Places of work
The data was extracted from Facebook by third-parties who utilised Facebook’s contact importer tool. The tool allowed users to find people on Facebook through their contacts list on their phone. However, data scrapers were able to use this tool maliciously to gain information.
Even once the became aware of the issue Facebook failed to notify anyone affected or highlight the measures taken to protect data following the incident.
Outcome
The Brazilian Court found that it didn’t not matter that the authorized processing was done by a third-party. Ultimately, Facebook failed to adequately protect the data of their users.
Facebook have been ordered to pay BRL 4.1 billion ($81,197,753 USD) in damages.
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