India sends notice to Facebook over alleged data breach

NEW DELHI — India’s government has sent a notice to Facebook asking whether the personal data of Indian voters and users has been compromised by U.K.-based Cambridge Analytica or any other downstream entity.

A similar notice was dispatched to Cambridge Analytica last week following media reports that it had misused data to profile Indians and influence their elections.

Facebook is facing unprecedented scrutiny following reports that the data mining firm used ill-gotten data from tens of millions of its users to try to influence elections.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said in a statement late Wednesday that Facebook has its largest footprint in India in terms of its user base and sought to know what proactive measures it is taking to prevent misuse by any third party.