British regulator fines Facebook over data protection breaches

The UK`s Information Commissioner`s Office (ICO) has fined Facebook for failing to protect personal information of at least one million users in the country between 2007 and 2014.

The regulator said on Thursday that it has issued a 500,000 pound ($646,315) fine, the maximum allowed under laws which applied at the time. This was part of a wide-ranging investigation into the use of data analytics for political purposes, the ICO was cited as saying by Efe news. 

Between 2007 and 2014, Facebook processed the personal information of users unfairly by allowing application developers access to their information without sufficiently clear and informed consent, the ICO said. The probe also found that Facebook failed to keep users` personal information secure. 

Even after the misuse of data was discovered in December 2015, Facebook failed to do enough to ensure those who continued to hold the information had taken remedies, including deletion, according to the regulator.

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In the case of the SCL Group, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica - which was involved in political campaigning in the US - Facebook didn`t suspend the company from its platform until 2018, the ICO said.