美国有线新闻 CNN 脸谱网陷数据泄露丑闻 被指影响总统大选

In 2004, a site known then as The Facebook was launched by a student at Harvard University.

AZUZ: That student, Mark Zuckerberg, is now the CEO of Facebook and he's admitting his company has made mistakes when it comes to some users' information. Here's what happened: years ago, a university professor created an application called "This is Your Digital Life". It included a personality test. Users who downloaded the app gave the professor permission to gather information about their locations, their friends and their likes. Under Facebook's rules at the time, all this was allowed.

But what wasn't allowed under Facebook's rules was what the professor did with this massive amount of information. He provided it to a data analysis company named Cambridge Analytica. The firm had gotten information from 50 million Facebook profiles. And "The New York Times" reported that Cambridge Analytica was using this info to influence how Americans voted.

Facebook said it asked Cambridge Analytica to delete its information in 2015, and the company says it did. But over the past few days, Facebook says it found out that not all of the info had actually been removed and the reputations of both Cambridge Analytica and Facebook were damaged. The Internet company stock took a nosedive. As of Wednesday afternoon, Facebook had lost 8 percent or almost $35 billion of its value just this week. Investors 1 filed lawsuits 2 against Facebook, and the movement called "Delete Facebook" gained momentum 3.

CEO Zuckerberg addressed the controversy 4 yesterday, posting, quote: We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't, then we don't deserve to serve you. He says the company is working to make sure this doesn't happen again. It plans to set new rules that make it harder for app developers to get users data and to offer a new tool that helps users revoke 5 the permissions they've given apps.

The issue of online privacy has been debated since people started sharing information online.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Facebook's most valuable asset is how well it knows you. Every post you like, every page you follow, every friend you make tells Facebook a bit more about who you are, and more importantly, what you buy or who might vote for.

Last year, Facebook made 98 percent of its revenue on advertising 6. That's $39.9 billion. Advertisers pay for those personal insights to make sure their messages reach the right audience. Things go wrong when that data falls into the wrong hands.

The 2016 election was bad for Democrats 7. It was worse for Facebook. Russian operatives allegedly exploited the social network to interfere 8 with the U.S. election, an epidemic 9 of bogus social media posts made users questioned whether they could trust their newsfeed.

Then, revelations that a data firm called Cambridge Analytica acquired information on 50 million users for an app that Facebook says was billed as a research tool. That tool was essentially 10 a personal test you took on Facebook. But what users didn't know, when you took the quiz, it also combed your friends' Facebook profiles for data.

That changed in 2014. Facebook made changes to give developers stricter policies when it came to accessing our data. But years later, it became clear the damage was done. And it's unnerving to think that researchers can learn so much about us from our social media profiles. It's been more disconcerting that a political campaign could buy access to those insights without our knowledge.

But none of that is new. It's called microtargeting and political campaigns have been doing it for years. In 2016, Donald Trump's campaign paid Cambridge Analytica millions to target voters. But in 2012, Barack Obama's team of data scientists were widely credited with helping 11 him win.

But there's a thin line between microtargeting and manipulation. And regulators in Washington are looking to draw that line. They're also calling for more transparency, more accountability as Facebook takes yet another hit. Some are calling on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress.

Sources inside Facebook tell me that they think more regulation is necessary when it comes to a standard for online advertising. As it stands, there's barely any. It's a pivotal moment for the tech giant.

Facebook has an extraordinary ability to influence its 2 billion users. And now, its impact will come under greater scrutiny 12 as we head into the midterm elections.