Facebook found a bug in its network that affected over 6.8 million users by giving third-party applications access to private photos of users. After news of the Facebook bug went public, the Data Protection Commission of Ireland opened a statutory investigation into the tech company.
Facebook is sloppy, prioritizing growth over others: Analyst
Facebook said it discovered the bug in software that used its login to allow third-party apps to access photos of users over a 12 day period, between 13 and 25 September 2018. The tech giant said the Facebook bug not only allowed access to the pictures that were posted on the platform, but also to pictures that were uploaded but not posted publicly on the site.
Some analysts believe the latest bug could have a severe impact on the efforts made by Facebook to control data and prevent security breaches because it will now be even harder to assure regulators and users about security.
An analyst with Pivotal Research told reporters that his organization already has evidence that the social network is careless. Further, he said that the tech giant is putting growth above all other considerations. Another expert, George Salmon, an analyst with Hargreaves Lansdown, told Reuters that new reports of breaches and bugs increase the chances that government will add more regulations to reign in the social media platform.
Facebook to work with developers to delete photos of impacted users
Facebook revealed that when a user allows an app to access his or her pictures on the platform, it usually allows access only to photos that the user shares on his or her timeline. However, it noted that the bug “potentially gave developers access” to other pictures as well, like the ones shared on Facebook Stories or Marketplace.
The company apologized for what happened and said it will work with developers to remove the pictures of affected users.
The tech company has promised to make the platform a more secure place and better protect information of users. In a note to users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook does not deserve to serve its users if it can’t protect them.
