• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

Fortinet FortiWeb flaw CVE-2025-25257 exploited hours after PoC release

 | 

Authorities released free decryptor for Phobos and 8base ransomware

 | 

Anne Arundel Dermatology data breach impacts 1.9 million people

 | 

LameHug: first AI-Powered malware linked to Russia’s APT28

 | 

5 Features Every AI-Powered SOC Platform Needs in 2025

 | 

Broadcom patches critical VMware flaws exploited at Pwn2Own Berlin 2025

 | 

Stormous Ransomware gang targets North Country HealthCare, claims 600K patient data stolen

 | 

United Natural Foods Expects $400M revenue impact from June cyber attack

 | 

Cisco patches critical CVE-2025-20337 bug in Identity Services Engine with CVSS 10 Severity

 | 

UNC6148 deploys Overstep malware on SonicWall devices, possibly for ransomware operations

 | 

Operation Eastwood disrupted operations of pro-Russian hacker group NoName057(16)

 | 

Salt Typhoon breach: Chinese APT compromises U.S. Army National Guard network

 | 

Former US Army member confesses to Telecom hack and extortion conspiracy

 | 

CVE-2025-6554 marks the fifth actively exploited Chrome Zero-Day patched by Google in 2025

 | 

DDoS peaks hit new highs: Cloudflare mitigated massive 7.3 Tbps assault

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Wing FTP Server flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Android Malware Konfety evolves with ZIP manipulation and dynamic loading

 | 

Belk hit by May cyberattack: DragonForce stole 150GB of data

 | 

North Korea-linked actors spread XORIndex malware via 67 malicious npm packages

 | 

FBI seized multiple piracy sites distributing pirated video games

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Facebook fined $1.65 by Brazil Governenment over Cambridge Analytica

Facebook fined $1.65 by Brazil Governenment over Cambridge Analytica

Pierluigi Paganini January 04, 2020

Early this week, Brazil fined Facebook $1.65 million for improperly sharing users’ data in a case linked to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal.

Brazil fined Facebook $1.65 million for improperly sharing users’ data in a case linked to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal.

According to the Brazilian prosecutors, Facebook is responsible for an “abusive practice” that allowed developers of the application “This is Your Digital Life” to access data from 443,000 users in Brazil.

The app named “thisisyourdigitallife” is available to users since 2014, it was provided by Global Science Research (GSR) and asked users to take an online survey for $1 or $2. The app requested access to the user’s profile information, and over 270,000 users gave the app permission to use their personal details for academic research.

After the scandal was discovered, Facebook “suspended” any business with Cambridge Analytica (CA) and its holding company.

“Aleksandr Kogan requested and gained access to information from users who chose to sign up to his app, and everyone involved gave their consent.” stated the official statement released by Facebook in 2018.

“Like all app developers, Kogan requested and gained access to information from people after they chose to download his app. His app, “thisisyourdigitallife,” offered a personality prediction, and billed itself on Facebook as “a research app used by psychologists.” Approximately 270,000 people downloaded the app. In so doing, they gave their consent for Kogan to access information such as the city they set on their profile, or content they had liked, as well as more limited information about friends who had their privacy settings set to allow it.”

The app was a powerful tool to profile users by harvesting information on their network of contacts, its code allowed to collect data of 87 million Facebook users and misuse it.

Brazilian authorities also began investigating the privacy scandal to determine the involvement of its citizens.

On Monday, Brazil representative stated that there was “no evidence user data in Brazil was transferred to Cambridge Analytica” and that it was evaluating legal options in this case.

“We have made changes to our platform and restricted the information accessible to app developers,” a Facebook spokesperson said.

Brazil’s Ministry of Justice pointed out that the social network giant failed in adequately informing its users “about the consequences of the default privacy settings.” Facebook was not transparent on possible consequences of privacy settings on the access to data of “friends and friends of friends.”

Facebook could appeal the decision within 10 days and has one month to pay the fine.

In July 2019, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved a record $5 billion settlement with Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In July 2019, the Italian data protection watchdog fined Facebook for one million euros ($1.1 million) for violating privacy laws over the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal.

In October 2018, Facebook was fined £500,000 by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal.

[adrotate banner=”9″] [adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – Cambridge Analytica, Facebook)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

Cambridge Analytica Facebook Hacking information security news Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 19, 2025
Fortinet FortiWeb flaw CVE-2025-25257 exploited hours after PoC release
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 18, 2025
Authorities released free decryptor for Phobos and 8base ransomware
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    Fortinet FortiWeb flaw CVE-2025-25257 exploited hours after PoC release

    Hacking / July 19, 2025

    Authorities released free decryptor for Phobos and 8base ransomware

    Malware / July 18, 2025

    Anne Arundel Dermatology data breach impacts 1.9 million people

    Data Breach / July 18, 2025

    LameHug: first AI-Powered malware linked to Russia’s APT28

    APT / July 18, 2025

    5 Features Every AI-Powered SOC Platform Needs in 2025

    Security / July 18, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT