Judge urges Facebook to disclose app data for Massachusetts' investigation of its privacy practices

Facebook Inc has been ordered by a Massachusetts judge to turn over materials to that state's attorney general about thousands of apps that the social media company suspected may have misused customer data.In a decision made public on Friday, Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Brian Davis said Attorney General Maura Healey had demonstrated a "substantial need" for the materials, as she investigates Facebook's privacy practices.Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment.(Also read: Facebook drops plans to roll out adverts in WhatsApp, but will still integrate ads in status: Report)[caption id="attachment_7359781" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

Image: Reuters[/caption]Healey began her probe in March 2018, following news that Facebook had let British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica access data for as many as 87 million users.Cambridge's clients had included US President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign.(Also read: Facebook sued by four companies for alleged anti-competitive conduct in US federal court)Davis said Facebook did not show that most of the materials Healey sought, including the identities of developers behind suspect apps, were protected by attorney-client privilege or were attorney "work product" and did not need to be disclosed."Only Facebook knows the identity of these apps and developers, and there is no other way for the attorney general to obtain this information on her own," Davis wrote.According to court papers, the Menlo Park, California-based company's own probe led it to suspend 69,000 apps last September, mostly because their developers did not cooperate.About 10,000 of these apps were found to have potentially misused user data.Healey welcomed Davis' decision, which is dated 16 January."Facebook simply telling its users that their data is safe without the facts to back it up does not work for us," Healey said in a statement. "We are pleased that the court ordered Facebook to tell our office which other app developers may have engaged in conduct like Cambridge Analytica."The judge gave Facebook 90 days to turn over materials that Healey sought.Healey's probe is one of several by state attorneys general regarding Facebook's ability to protect user data.Last July, Facebook agreed to pay a record $5 billion fine to resolve a US Federal Trade Commission probe into its privacy practices.(Also read: Facebook sued for discriminating on the basis of gender, age for financial service ads)