Australia privacy chief to probe Facebook over data breach

Australia is investigating Facebook over alleged privacy breaches, authorities said today, after the firm admitted the personal data of thousands of local users was improperly shared with a British political consultancy.

The social networking giant said yesterday the data of up to 87 million people worldwide - including more than 300,000 Australian users - were shared with Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook has been under fire over its handling of users' personal information after reports the British firm harvested the huge amounts of data as part of its work on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

"The investigation will consider whether Facebook has breached the Privacy Act," acting Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said in a statement.

"Given the global nature of this matter, the OAIC (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner) will confer with regulatory authorities internationally."