Facebook to be asked to explain 50 million users security breach at Oireachtas Committee

FACEBOOK bosses in Ireland are to be asked to explain the security breach of 50 million social media accounts before the Oireachtas Committee on Communications.

Fine Gael TD and Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Hildegarde Naughton has confirmed she will be writing to the social media company’s senior management in Dublin following a request from her party colleague, Senator Tim Lombard, who discovered this week his Facebook account was hacked.

Deputy Naughton said, “It is quiet alarming that Facebook users have suffered such a data breach. It highlights the precarious nature of uploading sensitive or personal content into the trust of social media giants.

“What security measures are in place for account holders and what are Facebook doing to prevent such a future occurrence. These are just some of the questions that we require answers for.

“Social media is clearly a prevalent every day reality of modern society and we must have confidence in the framework of the industry and their social responsibilities. At the moment, this is clearly lacking,” Deputy Naughton said.

The Galway West TD added that she will be discussing the issue with committee members on Tuesday.

Senator Lombard said this weekend: “This is the latest issue regarding a data breach at Facebook in the last few months.”

“There seems to be a black veil regarding informing the public and the Government of what is actually happening within the headquarters of Facebook in Dublin.

“It is necessary and appropriate, once again, that the Communications Committee ask executives from Facebook to explain why it took several days for the data breach to be reported.

“As one of the accounts that was hacked, I personally believe the level of information and disclosure that Facebook has provided their users is appalling. They need to clarify how much information or what kind of data and content the hackers have received,” Senator Lombard said.