Brazil fines Facebook $1.6m for improperly sharing user data

Investigation discovers data from 443,000 Facebook users was improperly shared

Brazil has fined Facebook for sharing the data of thousands of users. AFP

Brazil's Ministry of Justice has fined US technology major Facebook $1.6 million for improperly sharing user data.

The ministry's department of consumer protection said it found data from 443,000 Facebook users was improperly made available to developers of the application thisisyourdigitallife.

The data was being shared for questionable purposes, the ministry said.

Facebook said it was evaluating its legal options over the case.

"We are focused on protecting people's privacy," the company said.

It said it had made changes that restricted "the information that app developers can access".

The ministry said the world's largest social network failed to provide users with enough information on default privacy settings, particularly related to data of "friends" and "friends of friends".

It said it launched the investigation after reports of data misuse by political consultancy Cambridge Analytica in 2018.

Facebook has 10 days to appeal against the decision. The fine should be paid within 30 days.