Lawmaker probes Facebook porn attack

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) has directed her staff to meet with Facebook officials next week to discuss why the world's largest social network was flooded with pornographic and violent images in recent days.

The spam attack tricked users into copying code into their browser's address bar, which caused them to unwittingly share offensive pictures, such as porn or dead animals, on their profile.

Ken Johnson, a spokesman for Bono Mack, said in an email the congresswoman is "very concerned" about the attack and "wants to make certain—to the extent possible—that it doesn't happen again."

The Facebook officials will meet with Bono Mack's aides for the Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, which she chairs.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said the company has now stopped most of the spam, and that no accounts or personal data were compromised during the attack.

"Protecting the people who use Facebook from spam and malicious content is a top priority for us," he said.

Facebook's engineering teams have been working to fix the vulnerability in the website that the spammers exploited, and an enforcement team has already identified many of the people behind the attack, according to Noyes. "We will ensure appropriate action will be taken against those responsible," he added.

"We look forward to briefing Rep. Bono Mack's staff on this matter," Noyes said.

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