How to Verify Your Facebook Data Breach

How to verify your Facebook Data Breach will be explained below.

But first, a little history

According to Wikipedia , the Facebook Data Breach Scandal began in 2014 when it allowed a British company called Cambridge Analytica to conduct a Personality Quiz for Facebook users on an app called “This is Your Digital Life” . The personal information (data) was used to influence voters’ opinions on behalf of their political clients. This included the Elect Donald Trump President campaign .

It wasn’t until March of 2018 that news broke about how 88 million Facebook users’ personal data may have been breached. News stories then appeared in the UK newspaper The Guardian , The New York Times , and Channel 4 News about the Facebook Data Breach.

Since then, the global media has published numerous new stories and opinions about the now named “Facebook Data Breach Scandal” .

On April 10th, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the U.S. Congress for five hours. His testimony centered upon Facebook allowing a UK based political data company called Cambridge Analytica to access millions of users’ personal data.

How to Verify if Your Facebook Account was Breached

Facebook will display a News Feed on top of your Facebook page letting you know if your account was breached. Here is a CNN story about this, just CLICK HERE .

Don’t trust Facebook? If no News Feed exists on your Facebook Home Page, there is another way to verify that a breach did or did not occur.

Facebook has a dedicated link to verify if your Facebook account data was breached by Cambridge Analytica. If you automatically log into Facebook from your device or computer, this Facebook link recognizes your account and instantly verifies if your data was breached by Cambridge Analytica. Just CLICK HERE to learn how it works and to access this Facebook link.

Change Your Facebook Settings





Your FB Home Page should have a new Notice from FB (see screenshot above) asking you to Click on the blue “Go to Settings” button to go to your Settings.

It takes you to a web page called “Apps and Websites” where it lists all apps and websites you visited which have access to your personal FB data. It lists: “Active”, “Expired”, and “Removed”. You also have a “Search Apps and Websites” in case you know of some that are not listed here. See Screenshot below:

Click on each App or Website to view what personal data you chose to share with them when you visited them through Facebook. Then you can edit each one to update or remove your FB information access they currently have.

When you Click on “Learn More” it states:

“Keep in mind when you install an app, you give it permission to access your public profile, which includes your name, profile pictures, username, user ID (account number), networks and any info you choose to make publicly available. You also give the app other info to personalize your experience, including your friends list, gender, age range and locale.”

What to do if the FB New Notice doesn’t appear on your Facebook Home Page

Facebook Help provides detailed step-by-step instructions so you can access your FB Settings and Remove the Apps and Websites you no longer wish to access your personal information. CLICK HERE to read these FB instructions.

However, Facebook warns that your previously accessed FB personal information still remains with the Apps and Websites.

“Note: Keep in mind that app and website developers may still have access to the data you previously shared.”

In Essence, your personal information already accessed by Apps and Websites you visited through Facebook still remains with them. Including “Cambridge Analytica” if they already accessed your personal data.

Can You Sue Facebook?

Yes, but you won’t win!

According to NBC News: “The Facebook data breach is a scandal of our own making. Legally, there's nothing we can do about it.”

The NBC news story author, a 15 year lawyer specializing in U.S. privacy laws, claims: “Unfortunately, while Facebook’s actions may have been unethical, Facebook has little legal liability when it comes to its users” .

That’s because we all clicked “Yes” to Facebook’s “Terms and Policies” notice, a legally binding contract agreeing to Facebook collecting our personal information (data) including our location, buying habits, Facebook friends, and other personal details.

Facebook Blames its Users

Facebook claims that Cambridge Analytica was able to harvest users’ profile information because they voluntarily participated in a Cambridge Analytica Personality Quiz called “This is Your Digital Life” in 2014. In addition, Facebook essentially blames users and their friends for not properly configuring their privacy settings.

Facebook claims no personal data breach because: “The claim that this is a data breach is completely false. Aleksandr Kogan requested and gained access to information from users who chose to sign up to his app, and everyone involved gave their consent. People knowingly provided their information, no systems were infiltrated, and no passwords or sensitive pieces of information were stolen or hacked.”

This is misleading because before the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook’s default privacy setting for Apps and Games was “Friends”. This automatically allowed your “friends” to share your Facebook personal information (without you knowing) with the Games and Apps they used.

In spite of all this, the NBC News lawyer/author concludes that “Facebook is contractually off the hook for any improper actions taken by outside companies” .

UK Investigates Facebook

In yesterday’s UK daily newspaper, The Guardian , claimed “Number of Facebook users whose data was compromised 'far more than 87m', MPs told” . UK’s Parliament investigating the current Facebook Data Breach Scandal revealed that the data breach was far more than the original estimate.

Here Comes the GDPR Law on May 25

CNN recently ran a news story about the European Union (EU) to Regulate Facebook resulting from the current Facebook Data Breach Scandal.

That news story focused on new powers the 28 EU countries assumes on May 25 called the GDPR which stands for the General Data Protection Regulation .

I recently published an article here on LinkedIn explaining the GDPR law .

A recent CNN news story claims the GDPR will affect every business app, blog, and website in the world by requiring a new Privacy Policy and Explicit Consent from every EU user who provides personal information. The new GDPR law goes into effect on May 25.

Besides CNN, warnings about the new GDPR comes from several reputable news sources:

Last February, the Wall Street Journal alerted readers that the GDPR will affect every business website worldwide which collects personal information about EU residents .

Forbes recently declared:

“Yes, The GDPR Will Affect Your U.S. - Based Business” .

Forbes claims every U.S. website promoting online products or services drawing European users must comply with the GDPR law.

GDPR $25 Million Fines

Today’s conversion of 20 Million Euros comes out to $25 Million USD.

That’s a huge penalty!

What is GDPR?

In a Nutshell:

If your business blog or website collects any type of personal information (data) from one European resident, GDPR governs.

Click Here to read how EU and American lawyers explain the GDPR in a FAQ format.

How You can Comply with GDPR

Change your blog and website Privacy Policy to include GDPR.

While you are at it, also include the two U.S. laws regarding online privacy known as:

• The State of California ( CalOPPA ) law which stands for the California Online Privacy Protection Act requiring a special online Privacy Policy; and

• The federal COPPA law which stands for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule protecting children under 13 requiring a parent or legal guardian’s consent before collecting personal information.

Click Here to read an explanation from EU lawyers and a U.S. lawyer about all of these required documents.

Where to Get a GDPR Privacy Policy?

My online research disclosed EU websites claiming to provide a GDPR Privacy Policy for “Free”. But, on further investigation they are just incomplete “samples” requiring expensive “updates” at a later time offered by the same websites.

I found EU law firms offering GDPR compliant Privacy Policy from $1,000 to $1,200 USD.

I even found non-law firm EU websites selling GDPR Privacy Policy for $500.

I finally located a EU English speaking website offering a GDPR plus CalOPPA and COPPA (all in one) Privacy Policy written by EU and American lawyers for $200 USD. But, LinkedIn’s articles policy prohibits my including contact information for commercial sites or advertising goods or services in articles.

Contact me here on LinkedIn so I can send you a link to the EU law firm’s website offering the $200 all in one Privacy Policy you can quickly download.

Conclusion

How to verify if your Facebook Data Breach occurred has been explained here.

Change your Facebook Settings to prevent your friends from sharing your personal information to outsiders. And to prevent Apps and Websites you visit through Facebook to collect your personal information.

CNN, Forbes, and the Wall Street Journal all claim GDPR applies to U.S. business blogs and websites. In fact, it applies to every business site in the world if one EU user provides any personal information.

If you own a business blog or website, comply with GDPR by May 25 in case one EU resident visits your site and provides any kind of personal information. This includes EU users signing up for future emails, newsletters, online offers, or promotions.

Copyright © 2018 – Steven Rich, MBA