Facebook Faces $1.63 Billion EU Fine for 'View As' Data Breach

Embroiled in another massive data breach, Facebook may face $one.63 billion in fine from the European Marriage (EU) privacy watchdog, the media reported.

According to a written report in The Wall Street Journal on Sun, Ireland's Data Protection Commission which is Facebook'southward pb privacy regulator in Europe, has asked Facebook to submit more details in the incident where information of over 50 million users were hacked via "Access Tokens" or digital keys.

The "privacy watchdog could fine Facebook as much as $one.63 billion for the data alienation", the report added.

"We are concerned at the fact that this breach was discovered on Tuesday (terminal week) and affects many millions of user accounts but Facebook is unable to clarify the nature of the breach and the take chances for users at this signal," the regulator was quoted as saying.

A Facebook spokeswoman said the social media giant volition respond to questions from the EU watchdog.

In the biggest-ever security breach afterward Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook on Friday admitted hackers broke into virtually fifty meg users' accounts by stealing their "admission tokens" or digital keys.

This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people's accounts.

Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that go on people logged in to Facebook so they do not need to re-enter their countersign every fourth dimension they utilize the app.

Senator Mark R. Warner has also chosen for a full probe into the incident.

Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and co-chair of the Senate Cybersecurity Conclave, Warner said it was high time the Congress stepped up and took action to protect privacy and security of social media users.

Facebook too said it was taking precautionary step to reset access tokens for another forty million accounts that take been subject to a "View As" await-up in the 2017.

As a upshot, around 90 million people will now have to log back into Facebook, or any of their apps that use Facebook login.

Reacting to the new information alienation, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: "While I'thou glad we found this, stock-still the vulnerability, and secured the accounts that may be at chance, the reality is we need to proceed developing new tools to forbid this from happening in the beginning place."

Zuckerberg and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg have already faced hearings at U.s. Congress over Cambridge Analytica data breach that affected 87 million users.