Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims, whose organisation is investigating the role of digital platforms, said the Facebook incident "plays into the broader narrative" of his world-first inquiry. "It plays into what the inquiry is looking at, which includes what consumers do know about their data. This affects Facebook’s business model" he said. Speaking from India at an international competition conference, Mr Sims flagged global talks among regulators to deal with privacy issues. Illustration: Matt Golding

"We’re all talking to each other and will stay in touch," he said "Each agency has its own laws, which at a high level look similar but the details on privacy regulations are quite different. "As far as we are concerned it is playing into the broader inquiry". Facebook has 15 million users in Australia. This week, the $US500 billion social media company has been rocked by reports that personal information of users was collected by Cambridge Analytica, to potentially target voters in the 2016 US elections on behalf of the Trump campaign. The privacy commissioner this week raised the possibility of sanctions against Facebook, and said it had asked the company whether any Australians had been affected.

Submissions to the ACCC's separate review of digital platforms are due in early April. “We are in the process of conducting a comprehensive internal and external review as we work to determine the accuracy of the claims that the Facebook data in question still exists. That is where our focus lies," said Mr Easton. "The ACCC is a separate investigation, which we are cooperating with fully.” Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said he was seeking advice from a key online safety body about whether any action needed to be taken. "I have asked the eSafety Commissioner to provide advice on actions that social media users can take to protect their data," he said in a statement. "Social media platforms which have a substantial amount of personal data about their users need to take responsibility for how third-parties access such data." Overseas, regulators have begun to circle the company.

America's Federal Trade Commission was reportedly investigating whether Facebook had violated a pact over privacy struck with the US government in 2011. And there have been calls in Europe and the UK for chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to appear before parliamentary enquiries to address the issue. On Wall Street, shares in the social media giant tumbled another 3 per cent on Wednesday. They have now fallen by about 10 per cent this week, wiping $US49 billion from the company's market value and costing Mr Zuckerberg billions. Mr Zuckerberg made his first public comments about the privacy scandal on Thursday morning, admitting that the social media giant had "made mistakes". "We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you," he wrote on Facebook.

"I started Facebook, and at the end of the day I'm responsible for what happens on our platform. I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our community." Loading In a statement before Mr Zuckerberg addressed the issue, Facebook said: "Mark, Sheryl [chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg] and their teams are working around the clock to get all the facts and take the appropriate action moving forward, because they understand the seriousness of this issue," it said. "The entire company is outraged we were deceived. We are committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to protect people’s information and will take whatever steps are required to see that this happens." Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John is asking all Australian political parties to say whether they had any involvement with Cambridge Analytica, such as providing government data like electoral rolls.