Data privacy row continues to haunt Facebook, likely to face more US probes

Facebook Inc could be subjected to at least two more state probes in the United States on the alleged mishandling of user data, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and his Illinois counterpart Kwame Raoul have joined forces with Connecticut to focus on investigating existing allegations.

The state probes are coalescing into two main groups, the report said. New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts are also probing the social media giant and are seeking to uncover any potential unknown violations.

The Illinois attorney general's office declined to comment on the matter, while the office of the attorney general of Pennsylvania and Facebook were not immediately available for a comment.

Facebook and other tech giants have been under pressure for over a year after it was revealed that British consultancy Cambridge Analytical acquired data on millions of U.S. users to target election advertising. This led to heads of several tech companies testifying before Congress last year.