The case sprang from 2018 revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a firm with ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon, had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million users of the platform.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against UK-based Cambridge Analytica and Global Science Research Ltd. It alleged that they were involved in illegal harvesting of personal data of 5.62 lakh Indian Facebook users for commercial purposes.
According to the Brazilian govt, evidence suggested that there was an "abusive" practice when it came to the data of these users by Facebook Inc and Facebook Serviços Online do Brasil Ltda.
Facebook has refused to comply with subpoenas to provide more information regarding investigation in Cambridge Analytica
District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, said the Washington Post.
Facebook says that because the regulator found no evidence that UK users' personal data had been shared inappropriately, the penalty of 500,000 pounds was unjustified.
According to the company, the blocked accounts were suspected of engaging in "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" from foreign entities into the US mid-term elections.
The breach was first discovered in September and the messages were reportedly obtained through unnamed rogue browser extensions.
The fine by the country's independent data watchdog related to the American social media giant's role in the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, which hit the headlines earlier this year.
In the letters sent to the companies, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought the details of data collection exercise adapted by them.
The issue of abuse of social media platforms has been under scanner in India over the last few months and the government has resolved to take tough action to prevent any platform misuse.
"The government has entrusted the issue to be investigated by the CBI for possible violation of the Information Technology Act 2000," Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told Rajya Sabha.
Investors are also happy at the news that Facebook has grabbed its biggest sports streaming deal yet with the Premier League.
The Facebook confirmation came a day after The New York Times reported that the social media giant provided access to users' data to at least 60 different device makers -- including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Samsung and BlackBerry.
Cambridge Analytica used the data of millions of Facebook users to target ads during political campaigns, including the US presidential vote.
The firm in the petition listed assets in the range of $100,000 to $500,000 and liabilities in the range of $1 million to $10 million.
A spokesperson for Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said investigators will "examine closely" the details of the closure and will "closely monitor any successor companies".
UK based marketing analytics firm Cambridge Analytica has announced that it was shutting down and would file for insolvency in the United States and Britain after failing to recover from the Facebook data privacy scandal.
UK based marketing analytics firm Cambridge Analytica has announced that it was shutting down and would file for insolvency in the United States and Britain after failing to recover from the Facebook data privacy scandal.
The report says that Twitter sold public data access in 2015 to Aleksandr Kogan, then a psychology researcher with University of Cambridge and his company Global Science Research (GSR).
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