Australian Information Commissioner sues Facebook over Cambridge Analytica

The Australian information commissioner has filed legal action against Facebook in the alleged privacy breach of 300,000 Australians. The Australian commissioner had previously launched an investigation to determine whether Facebook had breached the Australian privacy act following its admission that Cambridge Analytica may have accessed personal information for Australian users. The commissioner in the case filed in federal court alleges that Facebook continuously breached Australian privacy law when it made user data available to an app (This Is Your Digital Life) used by Cambridge Analytica for political purposes which deviated from the original intent of the data collected. Facebook had confirmed that during March 2014 and May 2015 data from 311,127 Australian users were shared with the Cambridge Analytica app even though only 53 persons had installed it. In the filing it is alleged that Facebook’s design prevented users from dictating how their data would be used.