If you find flaw in Facebook, you will be rewarded
What's the story
In the light of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal and the social network's promise to better protect user data, Facebook has launched a Data Abuse Bounty.
Just like bug bounty, it will reward people for finding flaws in the platform, specifically cases of data abuse.
The payouts will depend on the potential impact of the revelation and could go up to $40,000 for big discoveries.
Information
Facebook gives away $1 million every year in bug bounties
This is the first of its kind data abuse bounty. Currently, it is not open to other Facebook-owned entities like Instagram, which Facebook's other bug bounty programs are. Facebook reportedly gives away over $1 million on an average every year in bug bounties.
Eligibility
How to take part in the data abuse bounty program
The case you're reporting must involve at least 10,000 Facebook users, you must have proof of how data was abused (and not just collected) and Facebook must not know about it beforehand.
Eligible cases will include selling data to other companies for scamming or manipulating users' online behavior but will exclude instances of data scraping, social engineering projects, and malware-infected apps.
Action
What will Facebook do on receiving a data abuse report
Valid cases will then be investigated by Facebook's bug bounty team which currently has 10 people in it.
Potential outcomes include shutting down of the third-party app in question, suing the concerned developer or data leaker, and conducting an onsite audit of the company involved in selling or buying unauthorized data for vested gains.
Quote
This will help surface more cases like Cambridge Analytica: Facebook
"It will help us find the cases of data abuse not tied to security vulnerability. This will cover both hemispheres, and help surface more cases like Cambridge Analytica so we can know about it first and take action," Facebook's Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos said.