Senator Chuck Schumer, head of the Democratic minority of the US Senate, has asked the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the FaceApp app, which has become famous for aging people. The senator’s accusation is that the app steals data.
Other people have raised this question, saying that instead of selecting just the photo to modify, FaceApp uploaded all user photos to a cloud service. The senator’s main argument comes from the app- it is developed in Russia.
“The FBI and the FTC should look at security and privacy risks because millions of Americans have used the app and it is owned by a Russian-based company, and users are required to provide irrevocable access to their photos and personal data, ”warned the senator on Twitter.
BIG- Share if you used #FaceApp:
The @FBI & @FTC must look into the national security & privacy risks now
Because millions of Americans have used it
It’s owned by a Russia-based company
And users are required to provide full, irrevocable access to their personal photos & data pic.twitter.com/cejLLwBQcr
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 18, 2019
The Democratic National Committee has even recommended that politicians intending to stand for election not use the application because of its potential risk.
answer
Experts say that while they do not believe the app strictly follows the General Data Protection Act, there is no indication that it steals data and photos. In a statement to 9to5Mac, the app’s developers also said they use Amazon’s cloud service and not a Russian company.
The FBI and FTC have not yet responded to the Democrat’s request.
