WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — Nearly half the District’s population may have been exposed to the massive Cambridge Analytica personal privacy breach, according to new numbers published by Facebook and reviewed by WUSA9.
The figures were released in response to a request from multiple state attorneys general, asking how many people were impacted by the malicious third-party app at the center of the massive privacy scandal.
The law enforcement officials asked for a state-by-state breakdown in late March, with figures released this week.
For the District of Columbia, Facebook reported 345,652 people may have had their information improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.
The city’s population hit 700,000 in February, meaning the number from Facebook represents approximately 49 percent of Washington’s population.
Virginia stands at 1,709,835 Facebook users who may have been impacted, or roughly 1 in 5 people within the Commonwealth.
Maryland had 1,102,857 Facebook users potentially affected by the improper information sharing, or also roughly 1 in 5 residents within the state.
Facebook reported to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office that the numbers represented estimates on the higher side, with the social media giant potentially overcounting the data.
“This doesn’t change our commitment and determination to understand exactly what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” a Facebook spokesperson said in an email Thursday.
“We are continuing with our investigation in cooperation with the relevant authorities.”
Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring first illustrated the dramatic spread of the app’s impact, revealing only 7,103 Virginia residents actually installed the deceptive online social quiz.
After the small number of Virginia users installed the app known as ThisIsYourDigitalLife, the privacy exposure then spread to an estimated 1.7 million within the Commonwealth.
Only 852 Facebook users in Washington initially downloaded the invasive app, according to the District’s Attorney General’s Office.
A spokesperson for Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh reported 4,720 residents across the state also initially downloaded the app.
Facebook declined to publicly disclose the number of users within each state who downloaded the invasive social quiz.
The social media company confirmed the accuracy of the numbers when they were obtained by WUSA9.
The news added to a catastrophic crescendo for embattled Cambridge Analytica, which announced Wednesday it would file for bankruptcy.
