For a few days last month, a software bug caused 14 million Facebook users’ default setting for sharing content to be “public,” meaning that some of their posts intended to be kept private but the setting was automatically changed to public, the company said Thursday. It was active for 10 days, from May 18 to May 27, before being fixed.
“We have fixed this issue and starting today we are letting everyone affected know and asking them to review any posts they made during that time,” Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer, said in a statement. “We’d like to apologize for this mistake.”
Facebook, which said it discovered the bug, has not yet shared details about who may have accessed the exposed data, or how that access may have occurred.
Facebook said it had reverted the audience settings to users’ prior preference. It will also show affected users a notification with an explanation and apology, and they requested the users to check any posts they made during the time period when the bug was active.
The company’s quick acknowledgement of the error seems that it is providing efforts to increase transparency and regain trust following the Cambridge Analytica revelations. Facebook was harshly criticized this spring as it was failed to inform users whose data had been improperly shared with the political consultancy until more than two years.
> Shiuly Rina
