Report: SEC probes Facebook privacy issues

A report says the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Facebook adequately warned its investors about privacy lapses involving the data mining firm Cambridge Analytica.

The Wall Street Journal said Thursday that the SEC has requested information from Facebook on how much the company knew about Cambridge Analytica's use of user data. The report cited unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Cambridge Analytica, which was affiliated with President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, got access to data on up to 87 million Facebook users.

Both Facebook and the SEC declined to comment.

The report says the agency is also investigating how Facebook analyzed the risk it faced from developers who shared data with outsiders in violation of Facebook's policies—which is what Cambridge Analytica did.