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NJ AG Investigates Facebook Over Cambridge Analytica Data Harvesting

FacebookMarch 20, 2018New Jersey Attorney General

Summary

The New Jersey Attorney General announced an investigation into how the personal information of millions of Facebook users was harvested and obtained by Cambridge Analytica, a UK-based data analytics company. The AG expressed concern that Facebook may have allowed the harvesting and monetization of user data despite promises to keep it secure.

Contract Impact

In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements with third-party data analytics firms (like Cambridge Analytica), customer terms of service, and data processing agreements. Focus on clauses governing data sharing, user consent for data collection and monetization, security obligations, data retention, and breach notification. Changes may be needed to restrict unauthorized data harvesting, require explicit and granular user consent for data sharing with third parties, enhance audit rights over partner data practices, and strengthen security commitments to align with regulatory expectations and avoid similar investigations.

Contract Search Terms

data sharing agreementthird-party data sharinguser consent mechanismsdata processing addendumdata monetization clausesecurity commitmentsAPI data access termsdata retention policybreach notification clauseaudit rights

Violation Types

Entity Details

Entity

Facebook

Also known as: Meta

Industry

Technology

Official Sources

Source Evidence

Entity Name
"Facebook"
Violation Types
"how the personal information of millions of Facebook users came into the possession of Cambridge Analytica"
Violation Types
"Facebook may have allowed Cambridge to harvest and monetize its users’ private data"
Event Type
"we’ve launched an investigation"

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