"Facebook did not identify the data broker that was purchasing user information but did say it had reached an agreement with Rapleaf, a San Francisco-based data aggregation company that was previously identified as receiving some user information. Facebook said that Rapleaf has agreed to delete all user ID information in its possession and agreed not to conduct any further activities on the social network. The blog post did not indicate whether Rapleaf was the broker involved in the sale of user information, and Rapleaf representatives did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
In announcing the suspensions, Facebook said it "never sold and will never sell user information" and has a "zero tolerance for data brokers because they undermine the value that users have come to expect from Facebook."
The social-networking giant has blamed the issue on "referrer URLs," which tell sites which Web sites directed Internet users to sites, and has proposed a technical solution to prevent future transfers. Facebook also announced it had modified its policy to require developers to use the anonymous identifiers when working with ad networks.
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