According to the Washington Post, Facebook has notified nearly 50,000 users in more than 100 countries that they may have been targets of hacking attempts by surveillance companies working for government agencies or private clients. Facebook announced it had taken enforcement actions against seven surveillance companiesbased in four countries, removing about 1,500 fake accounts and blocking malicious web addresses. An investigation from Facebook found that the 'global surveillance-for-hire industry' had targeted journalists, dissidents, critics of authoritarian regimes, families of opposition and human rights activists on its platforms.