Not something new. They were recording audio on Facebook app and messenger for the longest time without a people using the microphone. They were tracking people using network data. The list is pretty long.
I'm curious why you're using past tense by the way?
And with respect to past tense, I don’t know if they still do when they were caught red handed about some of these things. Unless there is a court order I am sure they still do, but I have no proof point.