New York Governor's orders explore Facebook's access to data from other applications

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday ordered two government agencies to investigate a report that Facebook may have access to much more personal information than those known to users. smartphones, including medical and other information.

The directive sent to the State Department and the Financial Services Department of New York comes after the Wall Street Journal said that tests had shown that Facebook had collected personal information from other applications on smartphones users a few seconds after their seizure.

The WSJ reported that several apps shared sensitive user data, including weight, blood pressure, and pregnancy status with Facebook. The report states that the company can access the data in some cases even when the user is not logged in to Facebook or does not have a Facebook account.

In a statement, Cuomo described the practice as "outrageous abuse of privacy." He also called on the relevant federal regulators to get involved.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Shares on Facebook were ephemeral in popularity after the Wall Street Journal report was released, but were reinstated at noon.

In late January, Cuomo and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the opening of an investigation into the failure of Apple Inc. to warn consumers of a FaceTime bug that allowed iPhone users to listen to conversations of people who have not yet accepted video calls.

Facebook faces a multitude of lawsuits and regulatory inquiries into privacy issues, including an investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission into revelations that Facebook inappropriately shared information belonging to 87 million users with the British cabinet of British policy advice Cambridge Analytica.