Hackers looted the Facebook profile names, phone numbers, location data and other personal information of more than 530 million users from 106 countries, among others, and released this information to the public in early April. According to experts, fraudsters can commit fraud using that data.
In a response earlier this month, Facebook declared the data “out of date”, because the hack happened in 2019 and the leak is now closed, but the social network has no control over the already stolen information.
However, the DPC is conducting an investigation because it believes that “one or more provisions of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, ed.The Data Protection Act of 2018 has been or is being violated in relation to the use of personal data by Facebook. ”This says the Privacy Committee in a statement.
European pressure
The investigation comes after pressure from the European Commission on Irish Privacy Commissioner Helen Dickson. European Commissioner Didier Reynders (MR) tweeted on Monday that he has spoken with Dickson and that the European Commission is closely following the issue. In his tweet, he also invited Facebook to collaborate and asks the company to quickly provide clarity.
Today I spoke with Helen Dickson Embed a Tweet About the #FacebookLeak. The Commission continues to follow this issue closely and is committed to supporting the national authorities. We are also calling @ Facebook social networking site To collaborate actively and quickly to highlight specific issues.
Didier Reynders (@dreynders) April 12, 2021
DPC, the Irish equivalent of the Belgian data protection authority, plays a crucial role at the European level in the investigation of the Facebook data breach, as the European social media giant has its headquarters in Dublin.
No one knew
Despite the strict rules set out in the GDPR, and the risk of heavy fines if not complied with, Facebook did not inform European authorities about the data breach at the time. The DPC heard the news of the leak as well as everyone else through the press. Also, 533 million affected users have not been notified by Facebook that their information has been leaked without their knowledge or consent. Last week, the social network also said it does not intend to inform those affected, although now they are at increased risk from spam and phishing messages.
On the other hand, privacy experts are criticizing the fact that no punishment has yet been taken against Facebook, although several investigations are already underway into the social network’s practices. However, in these cases, the DPC has yet to make a final decision.
