Facebook Says Breach Affected About 50 Million Accounts (3)

Facebook Inc. said it discovered a security breach earlier this week that affected almost 50 million accounts, the latest in a series of missteps that are undermining confidence in the company’s social network and business model.

The social-media network said in a statement Sept. 28 that it has fixed the breach, which allowed hackers to take over people’s accounts. Law enforcement authorities and regulators including the Irish Data Protection Commissioner have been told about the incident. Shares declined about 2.6 percent on the news.

User data leaks, security breaches and the spread of misinformation have forced Facebook to confront hostile ...