Facebook’s promised internal app audit has turned up some 200 apps that are suspected of misusing or leaking user data. It’s not entirely certain that these apps are actually at fault, but the social media company has suspended them pending a more extensive investigation.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg had originally announced an internal audit following the fallout of the Cambridge Analytica leak. Some 50 million user accounts were leaked to the political consulting firm through a seemingly harmless third party app; leading to a massive outcry from the public.
From the sound of it, Facebook is close to completing the first phase of its audit; which is identifying any apps that raise suspicions about the handling of user data. Following this, the auditors will begin interviewing and making requests for information from the developers of the apps. Taking a far more detailed look at what they might be doing with user data.
An internal audit isn’t quite the same as getting a third party to look into matters, but it’s a first step in a company that has traditionally been lax about its privacy standards. Things may have been better if there was some additional oversight into what’s going on, but this appears to be the best that we have so far.
[Source: Facebook]
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