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Facebook suspends tens of thousands of apps in probe sparked after Cambridge Analytica scandal
- Facebook has been looking into the apps that have access to its users’ data since March 2018
- The probe came after revelations that Cambridge Analytica used ill-gotten data from millions of Facebook users through an app, then used the data to try to influence US elections
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Facebook said it has suspended “tens of thousands” of apps made by about 400 developers as part of an investigation following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which huge volumes of data were harvested in a bid to manipulate public opinion.
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The apps are linked to 400 developers and have been suspended for a number of reasons, the social media giant said in a statement released Friday, adding that the company’s probe was “by no means finished”.
The New York Times reported that the number of blocked apps was 69,000, citing filings from a state court in Boston.
The vast majority of apps were blocked for not cooperating with Facebook's investigation, while 10,000 were flagged for potentially misappropriating Facebook users’ personal data, the report said.
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Six thousand were looked into due to the sheer number of people who had installed them.
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