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Mark Zuckerberg’s personal Facebook profile was part of the Cambridge Analytica leak

Mark Zuckerberg’s personal Facebook profile was part of the Cambridge Analytica leak

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The Facebook CEO has a personal stake in the recent data-privacy scandal

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For weeks, Facebook has been struggling with the fallout from a third-party app that leaked 87 million Facebook profiles to the campaign firm Cambridge Analytica — but speaking to a House committee today, Zuckerberg revealed a new personal connection to the breach. Apparently, Zuckerberg himself was one of the many Facebook profiles collected through the app.

The revelation came as part of a string of yes-or-no questions from Rep. Anna Eschoo (D-CA), who encouraged Facebook to adopt a more serious approach to data privacy. “Was your data included in the data sold to malicious third parties?” Eshoo asked. “Your personal data?”

“Yes,” Zuckerberg answered.

It's unclear if Zuckerberg installed the "thisisyourdigitallife” app himself or if his data was collected through one of his friends. Still, the result is a newly personal connection to the scandal that has raised grave new concerns about the Facebook platform. Facebook began sending notifications to users this week if their profiles were included in the leak. The information is also available through a dedicated help page.