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Facebook admitted it still isn’t sure of the extent of the data that was exposed. The data Cambridge Analytica used came from a Cambridge researcher who developed a quiz that also sucked up information from users and their friends on Facebook.

Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith asked Facebook’s deputy chief privacy officer Robert Sherman, who appeared by video-conference, if Canadian users’ private messages were exposed to Cambridge Analytica as part of the breach and Sherman confirmed it was a possibility.

“It is possible that private message were shared in a small amount as part of that,” said Sherman. The company is embarking on a forensic audit of all the data that was caught up in the exposure, he said.

Whether Canada moves toward EU-style privacy laws or not, the regulations are going to have a big effect on Canadian businesses who have European customers. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner recently warned business owners to read up on the regulation to make sure they are in compliance when the law comes into effect in May.

The law beefs up the requirements around consent for the use of personal data, which in Canada are much looser. In the EU, users will have to give their consent on a more specific basis, where in Canada can be more general or even implied consent. That’s something Canada’s privacy commissioner has flagged as an issue, using the GDPR as a model to follow.

The EU rules also allow users the option to have their data erased by a company — more commonly known as the right to be forgotten. The decision on whether to remove information lies entirely in the hands of company controlling the data, which means they will be “judge and jury, with any mishandling of requests sitting on their shoulders,” as one British data company described its new responsibility toward EU users.

That law has some natural tension with freedom of speech rights and some lawyers in Canada have argued that it would run afoul of the Charter.

• Email: sxthomson@postmedia.com | Twitter: stuartxthomson