Facebook says it has put online contacts of 1.5 million users



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(Reuters) – Facebook Inc. announced Wednesday that it may have had "unintentionally imported" email contacts of 1.5 million new users since May 2016, which seems to be the latest problem in privacy protection met by the social media company.

FILE PHOTO: A person holds a smartphone with the Facebook logo in front of the words "top secret" and "email", in this illustration taken on December 6, 2018. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Illustration

In March, Facebook had stopped offering optional email password verification to first-time subscribers, the company said. In some cases, electronic contacts of people were uploaded to Facebook when they created their account, the company said.

"We estimate that nearly 1.5 million email contacts have been downloaded. These contacts have not been shared with anyone and we are removing them, "Facebook told Reuters, adding that users whose contacts had been imported would be notified.

The underlying problem has been fixed, according to the statement of the company.

Business Insider had previously reported that the social media company had collected email contacts from users without knowing it or consenting when opening their accounts.

When an electronic password has been entered, a message appears stating that it "imported" contacts without asking for permission beforehand, the report says.

A number of privacy issues have recently hit Facebook, including a computer problem that exposed its employees to the passwords of millions of registered users in a readable format within its internal systems.

Last year, the company was criticized following revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a British policy consultancy, had obtained personal data from profiles of millions of people on Facebook without their consent.

The company has also been criticized by lawmakers around the world for what has been perceived by some as inciting people to give personal data to Facebook and for the presence of hate speech and portability of data on the platform.

In addition, Facebook has been asked to ensure that its social media platform is not used for political purposes or to disseminate misinformation during elections.

Report by Ishita Chigilli Palli and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, edited by Sherry Jacob-Phillips

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