Alex Webb, Columnist

Facebook Scores a Very Unwelcome First on Data

Ireland’s GDPR probe is the last thing the social media giant needs, but it shows Europe remains vigilant.

October 4, 2018 at 10:10 AM UTC

Alex Webb is a correspondent for Bloomberg Quicktake. He previously covered the technology, telecoms and media industries in London, San Francisco and Munich.

After the year he's had, Mark Zuckerberg could probably do without this.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images North America

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Maybe it was inevitable that Facebook Inc. would become the first big target for Europe’s new data privacy rules.

After Mark Zuckerberg’s social media giant revealed a security breach last month that hit at least 50 million accounts, Ireland’s data protection authority now says it’s investigating whether its safeguarding measures were compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation, which came into effect in May.