Facebook rocked by data breach scandal as investigations loom

Facebook shares plunged as the social media giant was pounded by criticism at home and abroad over revelations that a firm working for Donald Trump's presidential campaign harvested and misused data on 50 million members.

Calls for investigations came on both sides of the Atlantic after Facebook responded to explosive reports of misuse of its data by suspending the account of Cambridge Analytica, a British firm hired by Trump's 2016 campaign.

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and Republican John Kennedy called for Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg to appear before Congress, along with Google and Twitter's CEOs.

The lawmakers said the companies "have amassed unprecedented amounts of personal data" and that the lack of oversight "raises concerns about the integrity of American elections as well as privacy rights."
"It's true that my role did change. I'm currently spending more time exploring emerging security risks and working on election security."
Wyden said he wants to know how Cambridge Analytica used Facebook tools "to weaponize detailed psychological profiles against tens of millions of Americans."
"Facebook and Google will have to ask users a lot more permission to track them," Carroll said. "Most people are going to say no, so I think it's going to have a huge impact on these companies."