Facebook Will Now Sell a Bit Less of Your Data

Facebook has decided to limit the amount of your data it sells off to advertisers—who are hoping to micro-target users—amid the furor over the way personal information was allegedly misused on behalf of the Trump campaign in 2016. The curbs will be applied to so-called data brokers who resell vast amounts of highly personal information to the advertising industry. The “partner categories” system that allowed ads to be served to people who had bought certain other items will be ended altogether while Facebook will change the way it allows advertisers to measure the effect of their campaigns. Facebook saw $80 billion wiped off its market value in the days after revelations about how political consultants Cambridge Analytica said they had used Facebook data to help Trump win.