There are a few in the U.S. today who are not familiar with the name Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Introduced in the days when Orkut and MySpace kept people enthralled, Facebook gained massive popularity quickly. Facebook was initially introduced as a student directory system for a Harvard University but is now a global phenomenon. Facebook was founded by the living legend Mark Zuckerberg.

On the request of researchers, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) had allowed them to conduct psychological experiments on social network users. However, the ICO or the Information Commissioner’s Office suspects that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) might have disregarded the data protection guidelines in doing so. Financial Times had reported that the U.K. ICO is now performing an investigation into Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s decision.

Financial Times also reported that the data regulator is looking into the experiment currently, and has planned to hold an inquiry with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). A spokesperson from ICO shared with the newspaper that it was too soon to claim that which portion of the protection law was breached by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), so they will reveal the facts after a complete investigation into the experiment.

The psychological experiment was conducted on about 700,000 unwitting, Facebook users in the year 2012. This caused an outrage over the social media. The purpose of the experiment was to determine if the unsuspecting users could be persuaded into changing their emotional states, so that they are tempted to post either more negative or more positive content.

Through an email correspondence, a spokesperson for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) stated that the company is willingly taking the responsibility for their actions; especially now when it is so obvious that the psychological experiment enraged many users. He claimed that Facebook wishes to improve its performance in the future and is using the people’s reaction as feedback as well. He also said that when the experiments were being conducted, it was ensured that the information of the users was adequately and appropriately protected. Thus, Facebook will be glad to answer all interrogations posed by data regulators.

Meanwhile, the ICO did not give an immediate response when they were asked to give a comment via email. It is ICO’s job to monitor the usage of personal data. It also has power to enforce changes in the policies of organizations, and impose fines worth 500,000 pounds.

In 2013, Edward Snowden, a former contractor of U.S. National Security Agency revealed the details of mass surveillance programs by the U.S. on citizens of Europe and some of the state heads. This was shocking news and obviously increased concerns for Internet privacy.

In the previous week, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) informed that it was now removing some search results. This was because users were objecting that their personal information was being revealed in the search engine’s search results. The European Union ruled that the citizens had every right to object to such a breach in the security of their personal data. Therefore, in compliance, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) started filtering out some of its search results.

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