Facebook data misuse row continues as new reports emerge

Facebook is currently under fire over the data breaching scandal. Things went really bad for the company when Mark Zuckerberg issued a statement admitting that the social media platform has shared user's personal data with the British consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica.

Naturally, users all around the world were outraged with the news. However, it seems like Facebook's owes are a long way from getting over. According to fresh information, even though Cambridge Analytics claim that it has deleted data of more than 50 million Facebook users, portions of the data is still there.

UK's Channel 4 reports, the cache of campaign data from a Cambridge Analytica source details 136,000 individuals in the US state of Colorado, "along with each person's personality and psychological profile".

"The data, which dates from 2014, was used by Cambridge Analytica to target specific messages at residents who would be most susceptible to them," the report noted.

Cambridge Analytica, on the other hand, had recently claimed that it has erased the data from the public domain. Years back, the company had obtained the user data from a Facebook app that is said to be a psychological research tool. Doesn't sound too alarming right? Well, the problem is that the firm was not authorized to receive that information.

There are many reports alleging that Cambridge Analytica has influenced the result of the United Kingdom's 2016 Brexit referendum and of the 2016 American presidential election that brought Donald Trump to the White House. No wonder, people are mad!

Christopher Wylie, an ex-Cambridge programmer, recently shocked delegates at the British Parliament by saying that he is sure that his former employer had manipulated the Brexit referendum and the 2016 US presidential election and broken the law.

Following the controversy, Facebook has made a major change in the design and layout of its settings section. Unlike the present settings menu which has around 17 different options which are marked with a short title, the new 'Settings' menu is now single page menu with all the tools and settings located under one banner making it easier for the user to locate them.

Further, a new Privacy Shortcut menu has also been added in the new update. The new shortcut allows a user to manage their account's privacy settings conveniently without making much effort.

Written with IANS inputs