Benzinga | Dec 17, 2021 09:58AM EST

Meta Admits ~50K Facebook Users Were Spied Upon

* Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) admitted that private surveillance companies targeted ~50,000 Facebook users.

* Meta, which owns and operates Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, alerted the potential victims.

* Meta banned seven "surveillance-for-hire" companies from its platforms.

* The companies include Cobwebs Technologies, Cognyte, Black Cube, Blue Hawk CI, BellTroX, Cytrox, and an unknown Chinese entity, CNBC reports. Four of them are located in Israel, one is in India, one is in North Macedonia, and the other is in China.

* Meta said the seven firms combined reconnaissance, engagement, and exploitation. Meta removed ~1,500 accounts linked to the seven firms from its platforms.

* Price Action: FB shares traded lower by 0.67% at $332.67 on the last check Friday.