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Cambridge Analytica, a data-mining firm, allegedly improperly accessed personal data on Facebook through a third-party quiz app, and a whistleblower says the company used the information to build psychological profiles in an effort to target voters with political ads.

Facebook Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer announced last week that the Cambridge Analytica breach affected as many as 87 million users, a number that has grown several times since the scandal became public last month. Facebook says the bulk of affected users are in the United States.

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aap Arriens/NurPhoto/Getty Images
PHOTO: A Facebook logo is seen on a smartphone, Nov. 15, 2017.
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The scandal comes about seven years after Facebook signed a consent decree with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission promising it would not share people's personal data without permission from the users.

Cambridge Analytica has denied wrongdoing and in a statement last week said it had data from only 30 million users.

\"PHOTO:
STOCK/Getty Images
PHOTO: West facade of the United States Capitol in the early morning.
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Whether a user's data was accessed or not, Facebook plans to show all people on the site the third-party apps authorized to use their information and provide instructions on how to delete, the company said.

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