Facebook to notify users affected by data scandal

Rank 5 | Mark Zuckerberg | Net worth: $78.7 billion | He is the founder of the social media platform, Facebook . (Image: Reuters)

Moneycontrol News 

Facebook has said about 5.6 lakh Indian accounts have been affected by unauthorized data mining by Cambridge Analytica.

All 2.2 billion Facebook users will receive a message titled "Protecting Your Information".

If you are one of the affected 87 million affected Facebook users, then you are likely to get two messages.

The second message will give a link where you can check what third party apps are connected to your Facebook account.

You can choose to cut off access to all third-party apps, or close access for individual apps. You will also be able to view what information the apps are allowed to access.

Affected users would have most likely granted access to an app called 'thisisyourdigitallife', an app run by Cambridge University professor Alexander Kogan.

Data from the app, which runs personality tests, has been given to Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy and data analytics firm.

Facebook founder-CEO Mark Zuckerberg yesterday testified before Congress in the US.

The testimony stated that the company was made aware of the unauthorized data mining in 2015. They had subsequently banned Kogan's app from their platform.

"It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m

responsible for what happens here.", Zuckerberg said in a prepared statement to Congress.