Report: Russian Internet Company Given Access to Private Facebook User Data

Facebook reportedly gave Russian internet company Mail.ru access to wide-reaching user data through the “hundreds of apps on the platform” it ran as far back as 2009. According to WIRED, Mail.ru ran apps during Facebook’s “old rules” for app developers, which allowed it access to the information of the app user and their friends. “We found no indication of misuse with Mail.ru,” a Facebook spokesperson told the magazine. “If we detect any suspicious activity or potential misuse, that’s when we formally audit a company.” There is also a possibility that Mail.ru could have given data access to Russian intelligence, a requirement that companies operating in the country reportedly “can’t escape.” The report comes as Facebook has been under fire for giving Cambridge Analytica access to user data, which it used for political advertising and targeting.