Brazil fines Facebook $1.6 million for improper sharing of user data

Brazil's Ministry of Justice fined social media giant Facebook 6.6 million-real ($1.64 million) for improperly sharing user data on Monday.

According to the ministry's statement, the fine is the first-ever applied to Facebook in Brazil and is related to the misuse of data by Cambridge Analytica in 2018. Facebook, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, has been ordered to pay the fine within 30 days.

The ministry's department of consumer protection said it had found that data from 443,000 Facebook users was made improperly available to developers of an App called 'thisisyourdigitallife.'

The data was being shared for "questionable" purposes, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the world's largest social network failed to provide users with adequate information regarding default privacy settings, particularly related to data of "friends" and "friends of friends."

The ministry said it launched the investigation following media reports of the misuse of data by political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica in 2018.

Facebook has 10 days to appeal the decision.