Facebook removes 200 apps as a part of investigation in Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook has announced that it had suspended 200 apps as part of its investigation into the potential misuse of personal data on the social network, the latest fallout from the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal.

As per the reports, after Cambridge Analytica fallout, the company is investigating apps that had access to large amounts of data before 2014. The company also said that it had investigated thousands of apps two months after reporting by the Observer and the Guardian revealed that millions of Americans’ personal data was harvested from Facebook and improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy.

Ime Archibong, Facebook’s Vice-President of Product Partnerships, said in a blogpost that the company was conducting a “comprehensive review” to identify every app that had access to large amounts of data before the site changed its policies in 2014. When concerns arise, Facebook plans to conduct interviews, request information from the apps “and perform audits that may include onsite inspections”, Archibong wrote.

“There is a lot more work to be done to find all the apps that may have misused people’s Facebook data – and it will take time. We are investing heavily to make sure this investigation is as thorough and timely as possible.”

If Facebook discovers that an app misused data, the company said it would ban them and allow users to check whether they were affected through a dedicated webpage.

A spokesperson also confirmed to the Guardian that Facebook had suspended myPersonality, a Facebook quiz application that was launched in 2007.

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