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NY Joins Investigation Of Facebook Data Use As Zuckerberg Responds

As the controversy heightens as to how data mining company Cambridge Analytica obtained 50 million Facebook users' profile information to aid Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, New York State has joined those demanding answers from the social media giant.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is White Plains native who grew up in Dobbs Ferry and attended Ardsley High School.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is White Plains native who grew up in Dobbs Ferry and attended Ardsley High School.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

"Consumers have a right to know how their information is used -- and companies like Facebook have a fundamental responsibility to protect their users' personal information," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. "We sent a demand letter to Facebook -- the first step in our joint investigation to get to the bottom of what happened."

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg made his first public comments on the controversy that started late last week in a post on Facebook Wednesday afternoon you can read here.

"We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you," said Zuckerberg, a White Plains native who grew up in Dobbs Ferry and attended Ardsley High School. "I've been working to understand exactly what happened and how to make sure this doesn't happen again.

"The good news is that the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago. But we also made mistakes, there's more to do, and we need to step up and do it."

New Jersey and Massachusetts have joined New York in the joint investigation.

“New Yorkers deserve answers, and if any company or individual violated the law, we will hold them accountable," Schneiderman said.

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