Facebook places full-page ads in British and American newspapers to apologize for Cambridge Analytica data leak

Full-page advertisements have appeared in a number of Sunday newspapers in the UK and US as Facebook embarks on a damage limitation exercise following the revelations about Cambridge Analytica's use of personal data.

The ads, signed by Mark Zuckerberg, say: "We have a responsibility to protect your information. If we can't, we don't deserve it." The apology -- of sorts -- adopts a similar tone to Zuckerberg's previous statements and interviews about the matter, and comes as the social network faces calls for not only regulation, but also as the London offices of Cambridge Analytica have been raided by the Information Commissioner's Office.

See also:

• Privacy: Facebook has been collecting call and text data from Android users
• Mozilla pulls advertising from Facebook
• Mozilla launches a petition asking Facebook to do more for user privacy
• Facebook suspends Trump campaign's data analytics team, Cambridge Analytica, for harvesting private information of 50 million users

While Zuckerberg fails to apologize directly to the millions of users whose data has been involved in the debacle (he merely says "I'm sorry we didn't do more at the time") he will be hoping that by at least appearing to grovel he will be able to win people back on side.

The ad reiterates what we've already been told: that Facebook has changed its policies regarding apps' access to user data, and that it's investigating other apps that have access to large amounts of data. The advertisement appeared in numerous newspapers, including The Observer -- the title which first brought the matter to light.

See also: Mark Zuckerberg's failure to apologize about the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach is despicable

The full text of the advertisement reads:

We have a responsibility to protect your information. If we can't, we don't deserve it.

You may have heard about a quiz app built by a university researched that leaked Facebook data of millions of people in 2014. This was a breach of trust, and I'm sorry we didn't do more at the time. We're now taking steps to make sure this doesn't happen again.

We've already stopped apps like this from getting so much information. Now we're limiting the data apps get when you sign in using Facebook.

We're also investigating every single app that had access to large amounts of data before we fixed this. We expect there are others. And when we find them, we will ban them and tell everyone affected.

Finally, we'll remind you which apps you've given access to your information -- so you can shut off the ones you don't want anymore.

Thank you for believing in this community. I promise to do better for you.

In the UK, the ad appeared in The Observer, The Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday, Sunday Mirror, Sunday Express and Sunday Telegraph; in the US, it appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.