Brazilian Government fines Facebook for sharing information

The Brazilian government has fined Facebook for sharing data on more than 400,000 users of the platform with a political marketing firm hired by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Facebook shared information on 443,000 Brazilians with Cambridge Analytica when that political marketing firm was working for the former U.S. president, Folha de São Paulo newspaper reported today.

After investigating the case, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security concluded that Facebook installed a “personality test” application called “This is your Digital Life” without informing users about how the data would be used.

The National Secretariat of Consumer Affairs, part of the Ministry of Justice, fined Facebook R$6.6 million (US$1.3 million), which can be reduced by 25 percent if the company does not appeal the penalty.

Facebook representatives have so far declined to comment on the fine, Folha reports.

The secretariat said the investigation was launched in 2018 following the international scandal when Cambridge Analytica misappropriated the data of 87 million Facebook users worldwide.