Brussels: The European Union pushed today for an urgent investigation into
revelations that a firm working for Donald Trump presidential campaign
harvested data on 50 million users.
EU Justice Commissioner Vera
Jourova, who has called the breach "horrifying", was meanwhile to seek
clarification from the social media giant during a visit to the United
States this week.
Facebook has faced worldwide criticism over
the claims that Cambridge Analytica, the UK data analysis firm hired by
Trump's 2016 campaign, harvested and misused data on 50 million members.
The European Parliament's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian premier, called for an investigation today.
"When
is Mark Zuckerberg going to explain what happened with our data? The
data breach is an absolute scandal," tweeted Verhofstadt, who heads the
parliament's liberal group.
"The European Parliament must start an investigation. I will keep you updated about our progress."
The EU parliament's civil liberties committee yesterday sent a
letter to Facebook asking it to testify before the body, a parliamentary
spokesman told AFP.
British lawmakers yesterday also asked Zuckerberg to give evidence to a UK parliamentary committee on the data row.
Jourova's office said she had called on independent European data
protection authorities who are meeting today in Brussels to probe the
growing Facebook scandal.
"Commissioner Jourova would encourage
setting up a taskforce to investigate this case," as the authorities had
done last year with a similar breach by cab firm Uber, her office said.
Britain's Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has already said
her office would seek a court warrant today to search Cambridge
Analytica's computer servers.
Britain has voted to leave the EU but remains a member state until next year.
EU digital commissioner Mariya Gabriel told a press conference "we are constantly following this case as it unfolds."
Gabriel added that the EU will say "loud and clear" that "the
protection of personal data is a core value for the European Union."
The EU parliament's civil liberties committee yesterday sent a
letter to Facebook asking it to testify before the body, a parliamentary
spokesman told
