Facebook believes that as many as 87-million users have been affected by Cambridge Analytica’s collection and sharing of personal information.
The social media giant has also admitted to scanning user’s chats and images on Messenger, ostensibly to ensure they abide by rules.
Content that doesn’t fall within the scope of Facebook’s rules is blocked.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before Congress next week, to answer for the company’s role in the Cambridge Analytica episode.
It was initially thought that 50-million people’s personal data had been compromised, but chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer has raised that estimate to 87-million.
The controversy arises from a personality quiz created by a University of Cambridge researcher. The app itself had about 270 000 users, but Facebook was still allowing app developers to collect information of users’ friends.
That information was sold to Cambridge Analytica.