State Launches Online Data Survey As Part Of Facebook Probe

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Cuomo administration has launched a survey to give New Yorkers an opportunity to provide feedback about online data privacy issues.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that information provided through an online consumer data privacy survey will help state regulators make policy decisions regarding the internet marketplace and how personal data is used by companies.

Cuomo says the survey is part of the state's investigation into reports that Facebook secretly accesses personal information of its users.

He announced the investigation in February after The Wall Street Journal reported the social media company harvests personal data from smartphone apps without users' knowledge.

Among the questions on the state survey are how many smart devices are in a respondent's household and whether they know how to access privacy settings.