Gov. Wants Answers for Facebook App Leaks

After Monday's report regarding Facebook apps and user data, the government has decided to investigate.

Monday brought reports that Facebook apps were transmitting user identification numbers to dozens of Internet tracking and advertising companies without explicit permission. Now the U.S. government wants a few answers.

The ID numbers in question can supposedly be used to identify a user's real name and possibly other information listed on Facebook. The numbers also reportedly have the potential to track user activity inside the apps themselves. However, as pointed out on Monday, the concept of referral ID numbers isn't anything new.

However Monday’s report of a possible privacy breach has now sparked an interest in the government. The Wall Street Journal reports that two House members--U.S. Reps. Edward Markey (D., Mass.) and Joe Barton (R., Texas)--sent Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg a letter requesting additional information on how third-party applications collect user data. Because Facebook plays host to over 500 million users, the possible breach of consumer privacy is "a cause for concern."

According to the Wall Street Journal, the letter questions Zuckerberg about the number of users that have been affected by the supposed breach. They also want to know exactly when Facebook became aware of the problem, and what the social website plans to change in order to rectify the problem. Zuckerberg was given until October 27 to respond.

Facebook executive Mike Vernal downplayed the breach Sunday night, saying that a user's ID doesn't grant access to private user information without explicit consent. In fact, passing along user IDs violated the company's policies. "In most cases, developers did not intend to pass this information, but did so because of the technical details of how browsers work," he said.

Tuesday a Facebook representative said that the company looks forward to working with the congressmen in order to address any confusion. "The suggestion that the passing of a user ID to an application--as described in Facebook's privacy policy--constitutes as a 'breach' is curious at best," the spokesperson said.