Facebook to pay UK fine over Cambridge Analytica

Facebook announced Wednesday that it will pay a $645,000 fine imposed by the U.K. government over the company’s failure to guard data gathered illegally by the Cambridge Analytica data firm.

The fine comes as part of a settlement between Facebook and the U.K. government in which the company will not admit any liability over its data practices, CNN reported; however, press representatives for Facebook said the company wished it “had done more to investigate claims about Cambridge Analytica in 2015.”

{mosads}”Protecting people’s information and privacy is a top priority for Facebook, and we are continuing to build new controls to help people protect and manage their information,” Harry Kinmonth, an associate general counsel for Facebook, told CNN.

“We are pleased to hear that Facebook has taken, and will continue to take, significant steps to comply with the fundamental principles of data protection,” Information Commissioner’s Office President James Dipple-Johnstone said in his own statement.

The settlement comes just days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was grilled by lawmakers on Capitol Hill over Facebook’s data practices as well as its standards for political advertising, which have been heavily criticized by Democrats over Facebook’s policy of not taking down ads by politicians that contain proven falsehoods.

Facebook was embroiled in a major scandal after it was revealed that the company had allowed Cambridge Analytica, a political intelligence firm previously used by the Trump campaign to access private Facebook data from as many as 87 million users in the U.S. and U.K.

The company has since announced changes to its data policies regarding third-party applications on its platforms, but has yet to shake regulatory scrutiny over the issue.

A request for comment from The Hill was not immediately returned.