Frank Esposito is reporting for the Rockland/Westchester Journal News state Attorney General Letitia James announced April 25, her office is looking into the allegation that Facebook collected 1.5 million of its users' email contact databases. Facebook claims the data was directly collected during its verification process for new users. The total number of people whose information was improperly obtained may be hundreds of millions, according to a press release from the AG's office. Reports also indicate that users' contacts were accessed and then uploaded for use in targeted advertising. “Facebook has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of respect for consumers’ information while at the same time profiting from mining that data," James said. The day before the AG's announcement, Facebook set aside $3 billion in anticipation of a possible $5 billion in fines from a Federal Trade Commission investigation. The commission is looking into whether Facebook broke its own 2011 agreement to protect users' privacy. Read the full story at lodged [dot] com.