Cambridge Analytica did not access EU user data, says Facebook

Cambridge Analytica which wrongfully accessed user data for political campaigns did not use EU user information, Facebook told lawmakers.

Based on the testimony by researcher Aleksandr Kogan, no European user's information was accessed as the data firm was interested only in American users' data for US-centric political campaigns, Engadget reported. It was earlier reported that data on 2.7 million European users had also been accessed by Kogan's app. 

Early this month, Facebook responded to the US Congress list of questions about the social network's policies and data collection framework.

The company responded with answers spread over a tiring 452 pages. However, what is to be noted is that Facebook has admitted to collecting data of users with their permission, receiving connections such as contact and SMS history, usage statistics and more, Engadget reported. Facebook also clarified that its Business Tools allowed partners to share data outside of the platform, adding that it also collected device information including IDs, app behaviour and so on. 

Facebook also engaged in special deals with specific companies to allow them access to user's friends data, a new report has revealed. The social networking giant recently confirmed that it stopped allowing companies access to data in 2015, Engadget reported.

However, a new report on the Wall Street Journal states that the company continued to allow access to users' friends list and related details. Facebook said that it only allowed access to third party companies for improving user experiences and not to the friends' private information such as photos and interests. 

With inputs from ANI