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Facebook has taken out full page adverts in newspapers to apologise for ‘breach of trust’

The adverts appeared in US and UK publications on Sunday.
The adverts appeared in US and UK publications on Sunday. The adverts appeared in US and UK publications on Sunday.

Mark Zuckerberg has taken out adverts in US and UK newspapers to apologise for Facebook’s lack of action on data privacy with third-party apps.

The full-page advert ran in the Observer, Sunday Mirror, Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Mail On Sunday, Sunday Express and Sunday Mirror, as well as multiple US papers.

It featured black text on a white background, bore the Facebook logo and was signed by Zuckerberg.

(PA)
(PA) (PA)

“You may have heard about a quiz app built by a university researcher that leaked Facebook data of millions of people in 2014,” read the advert.

“This was a breach of trust, and I’m sorry we didn’t do more at the time. We’re now taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

The apology comes after accusations that Cambridge Analytica used the Facebook profile data of those who took part in the quiz and their “friends” on the platform to help Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign target political ads on the platform.

The company has denied using Facebook data in its work on the campaign.

After assurances the incident would not happen again, Zuckerberg signed off: “I promise to do better for you”.