Cambridge Analytica: 87m hit by Facebook data leak

Facebook has revealed that Cambridge Analytica may have improperly accessed the data of up to 87 million people – 37 million more than previously reported.

The social network’s chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer made the admission at the end of a “lengthy – and somewhat unrelated – blog post” on Wednesday, Wired reports.

It said data from more than 70 million American Facebook users may have been shared with Cambridge Analytica, and more than one million users from the UK were similarly affected.

The remaining accounts were distributed around the world, including a million each in Indonesia and the Philippines, and more than 500,000 in Mexico, Canada and India.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has admitted the company made mistakes in the way it handled and protected user data, but has waved off suggestions he should step down over the scandal.

“I started this place, I run it, I’m responsible for what happens here,” he said. “I’m going to do the best job I can going forward. I’m not looking to throw anyone under the bus for mistakes I’ve made.”

Facebook has announced a number of measures it says will tighten control over access to user data by third-party app developers.

It will also be removing a tool that allows people to search for someone on Facebook using their phone number or email address, The Guardian reports, after the company found that “malicious actors have also abused these features to scrape public profile information”.