DC attorney general sues Facebook over alleged privacy violations from Cambridge Analytica scandal

The attorney general for the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against Facebook for allowing Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy, to gain access to the names, "likes" and other personal data about tens of millions of the social site's users without their permission. The lawsuit filed by Karl Racine marks the first major effort by regulators in the US to penalize the tech giant for its entanglement with the firm. It could presage even tougher fines and other punishments still to come for Facebook as additional state and federal investigations continue. “Facebook failed to protect the privacy of its users and deceived them about who had access to their data and how it was used,” Racine said. "Today’s lawsuit is about making Facebook live up to its promise to protect its users’ privacy.”