Facebook Launches Bounty Program For Reports of Data Misuse by App Developers

Facebook said it is launching a “data abuse” bounty program to reward people who report misuse of data by app developers. The announcement comes ahead of two days of congressional hearings starting on Tuesday, where Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg will be asked how up to 87 million Facebook users’ data was improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

Also Read: Latest on Facebook: Facebook Starts Sending Privacy Alerts to Users Affected in Cambridge Analytica Scam

The program will reward people with first-hand knowledge and evidence of a Facebook platform app collecting and transferring user data to another party to be sold, stolen or used for scams or political influence.

Also Read: Even Mark Zuckerberg Had Little Idea of Facebook’s Potential For Harm

Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, has also posted on Facebook regarding the Facebook Bounty Program. Her post reads:

Mark is in D.C. to testify before the U.S. Congress today and tomorrow. This is an important opportunity to speak with policy makers about the steps we’re taking to protect people who use our services.

Today we’re announcing another important step – a bounty program that gives people money for information that helps us take action against bad actors. We’re looking for cases where people or groups have collected data using an app connected to Facebook and then sold or transferred that data to another company where it can potentially be abused. This type of behavior is unacceptable and violates our policies. Because it’s a new program, it will change as people use it and give us feedback. You can learn more about it here: https://facebook.com/data-abuse

Users who wish to know more about the new bounty program by Facebook can visit this link.

To recall, Facebook has begun alerting some users that their data was swept up in the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. A notification that appeared on Facebook for some users Tuesday told them that “one of your friends” used Facebook to log into a now-banned personality quiz app called “This Is Your Digital Life.” The notice says the app misused the information, including public profile, page likes, birthday and current city, by sharing it with the data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook privacy alerts received by users