Google to Accelerate Closure of Google+ Social Network After Finding New Software Bug

By Douglas MacMillan

Google said it would close the consumer version of its Google+ social network earlier than planned after discovering a new software bug that exposed the private profile information of 52 million users to outside app developers.

The Alphabet Inc. unit said it introduced the bug during a software update on Nov. 6 and fixed the issue less than a week later. Google's investigators didn't find any evidence developers misused data, the company said in a blog post.

The announcement is likely to turn up the pressure on Chief Executive Sundar Pichai when he testifies on Tuesday before Congress, with privacy issues expected to be high on the agenda. The software problem may also raise flags with regulators in Europe, whose General Data Protection Regulation requires companies to notify regulators of breaches within 72 hours, under threat of a maximum fine of 2% of world-wide revenue.

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Google exposed the private data of hundreds of thousands of users of the Google+ social network and then opted not to disclose the issue this past spring, in part because of fears that doing so would draw regulatory scrutiny.

Soon thereafter, Google said it would end consumer functionality of Google+ by August 2019. On Monday, it said it would speed up that timetable to April.

It said it would also close a collection of related developer tools within 90 days.

Write to Douglas MacMillan at douglas.macmillan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 10, 2018 14:19 ET (19:19 GMT)

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