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Canada says Facebook broke privacy laws in Cambridge Analytica scandal
Facebook is facing yet more legal trouble over the Cambridge Analytica scandal after Canada's privacy commissioner said it violated federal and provincial privacy laws. Daniel Therrien plans to take the company to federal court in the hopes of forcing Facebook to change its privacy policies.
Kris Holt04.25.2019
Facebook will be liable for future Cambridge Analytica-style scandals
Facebook is updating its terms and conditions after agreeing several changes with the EU. It will have to clearly explain to users they can access the social network for free because it uses targeted ads that rely on user data. Facebook will also have to disclose what revenues it generates through the use of such data.
Kris Holt04.09.2019
Facebook board member may have met Cambridge Analytica whistleblower in 2016 (updated)
Facebook has never said when its execs learned about Cambridge Analytica's misuse of data, but The Guardian might have some insights. Its sources claim Facebook board member Marc Andreessen met Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie back in the summer of 2016, well before the scandal became public. Reportedly, the meeting in Andreessen's office was established to understand just how Cambridge Analytica was using the data and how Facebook could solve it. It's not clear who else was present, but the discussion apparently included Cambridge Analytica's "contacts with Russian entities."
Jon Fingas03.16.2019
Mueller subpoenas Cambridge Analytica director in Russia probe
Cambridge Analytica may be no more, but those connected to it are facing an increasing amount of scrutiny. Former business development director Brittany Kaiser has confirmed to The Guardian through a spokesman that US special counsel Robert Mueller subpoenaed her as part of a broader investigation into potential links between President Trump's election campaign and the Russian government. While the exact nature of the questioning hasn't been made public, Kaiser said it came soon after she'd acknowledged meeting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in February 2017.
Jon Fingas02.17.2019
Facebook might be facing a hefty fine from the FTC
Since reports revealed last March that Facebook had allowed Cambridge Analytica to access the personal information of 87 million of its users, there's been a fair amount of fallout. CEO Mark Zuckerberg was questioned during multiple Congressional hearings, more stringent privacy bills have been proposed and adopted, and comprehensive privacy regulations have at least been considered. But so far, not a lot has happened to Facebook itself, though that might be about to change.
Mallory Locklear01.18.2019
Cambridge Analytica parent company fined for violating UK data law
SCL Elections, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, pleaded guilty in UK court to violating the Data Protection Act after it failed to comply with a request for information submitted by a citizen and backed by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The company was fined a paltry £15,000 for the violation, according to a report from The Guardian.
AJ Dellinger01.09.2019
Didn’t think Facebook could get any worse? Think again.
Just about 24 hours ago, we published a story recapping Facebook's terrible 2018. But the year isn't over, and it looks like the drama is going to continue until the bitter end. According to an investigation by The New York Times that cites interviews with more than 60 people, including former Facebook employees, the company gave Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, Spotify and other tech firms far greater access to user data than previously disclosed. Earlier this month, the paper reported how some of these companies were receiving favored access to people's information, but we didn't know it was allegedly giving certain ones the ability to read, write and delete private messages.
Edgar Alvarez12.19.2018
Washington, DC sues Facebook over Cambridge Analytica scandal
Washington, DC's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal that unfolded earlier this year. The suit comes just after the New York Times released a report detailing new information about Facebook's extensive data sharing practices, and sources told the Washington Post that the lawsuit could be amended in order to incorporate some of the more recent charges made against the company.
Mallory Locklear12.19.2018
Maria Butina: Cybersecurity charlatan, spy
Russian spy Maria Butina's cover story was her academic interest and expertise in cybersecurity. As cover stories go, this unfortunately wasn't a hard one to pull off. Except anyone holding even the barest minimum of cybersecurity knowledge could've figured out in minutes that Butina's interest in cybersecurity was minimal.
Violet Blue12.14.2018
Facebook’s internal documents show its ruthlessness
As expected, the UK Parliament has released a set of internal Facebook emails that were seized as part of its investigation into the company's data-privacy practices. The 250-page document, which includes conversations between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other high-level executives, is a window into the social media giant's ruthless thinking from 2012 to 2015 -- a period of time when it was growing (and collecting user data) at an unstoppable rate. While Facebook was white-listing companies like Airbnb, Lyft and Netflix to get special access to people's information in 2013, it went out of its way to block competitors such as Vine from using its tools.
Edgar Alvarez12.05.2018
Mark Zuckerberg dismissed the risks of sharing user data
As Facebook continues to face scrutiny over its privacy practices following the Cambridge Analytica debacle, ongoing investigations into the company are giving us a look at what kind of access Facebook gave other companies to its user data as well as the discussions surrounding those decisions. The UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee just released a slew of internal documents regarding Facebook's handling of user data, some of which reveal that the company granted certain companies -- such as Airbnb, Lyft and Netflix -- special access to that data. But those documents also show that CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn't see a scandal like Cambridge Analytica coming.
Mallory Locklear12.05.2018
Cambridge Analytica used fashion tastes to profile Facebook users
The Cambridge Analytica scandal blew the lid off Facebook's haphazard handling of user data earlier this year. More than eight months have passed since it came to light and we're still gleaning more info about the ways the now-defunct company -- with ties to Steve Bannon -- used the harvested data of some 87 million Facebook users for political purposes. One of its methods was "fashion profiling," according to Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, Christopher Wylie.
Saqib Shah11.30.2018
Facebook's top lawyer delays departure as crisis continues
Despite announcing that he would leave the company earlier this year, Facebook's top lawyer Colin Stretch will stay on as general counsel into 2019, according to Recode. The change of heart comes as Facebook is embroiled in yet another controversy following a bombshell report from the New York Times that documents the company's mishandling of a number of situations it has been faced with in the last two years.
AJ Dellinger11.15.2018
Once again, Facebook has a lot of explaining to do
Just when you thought things couldn't get worse for Facebook, The New York Times has come out with a bombshell exposé of the company's tumultuous last two years. That, of course, includes its handling (er, mishandling) of the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal and other controversies, like the lack of transparency around Russian interference on its site leading up to the 2016 US presidential election. The paper says it spoke with more than 50 people, including current and former Facebook employees, who detailed the company's efforts to contain, deny and deflect negative stories that came its way.
Edgar Alvarez11.15.2018
Facebook fined £500k in the UK for Cambridge Analytica scandal
The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has upheld its £500,000 ($645,000) fine for Facebook for the social network's involvement in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. ICO's investigations found that between 2007 and 2014, Facebook processed the personal information of users unfairly by allowing application developers access to their data "without sufficiently clear and informed consent". It also found that Facebook failed to make suitable checks on the apps and developers using its platform.
Rachel England10.25.2018
Tim Cook calls for GDPR-style privacy laws in the US
Apple CEO and long-time data privacy advocate Tim Cook has made an impassioned speech calling for new digital privacy laws in the US. At a privacy conference in Brussels, Cook said that modern technology has resulted in a "data-industrial complex" where personal information is "weaponized against us with military efficiency," and in a way that doesn't just affect individuals but whole sections of society.
Rachel England10.24.2018
Facebook users are changing their social habits amid privacy concerns
The Pew Research Center has released the results of a survey that shows many Facebook users have changed how they interact with the site over the past year. The center polled 4,594 US adults between May 29th and June 11th and it found that 54 percent said they had adjusted their privacy settings, 42 percent had taken a break from the platform for at least several weeks and 26 percent said they deleted the Facebook app from their phone in the past year. In all, 74 percent of those surveyed had taken at least one of those actions over the past 12 months, though it's unclear if that's a typical rate or a response to recent privacy-related scandals.
Mallory Locklear09.05.2018
Cambridge researcher claims no 'misuse' of data after Facebook ban
Yesterday, Facebook announced that it had banned the Cambridge University app myPersonality, which was collected user data for academic and research purposes. Facebook claimed it banned the app for two reasons: the creator refused to an audit and the researchers shared personal information with few protections in place. Now, Dr. David Stillwell at Cambridge University has provided a scathing statement about Facebook's actions to Engadget.
Swapna Krishna08.23.2018
Facebook audit leads to the suspension of 400 apps
In May a report by New Scientist revealed that a Cambridge University-developed app called "myPersonality" had collected personal information from millions of Facebook users, and failed to protect it from misuse. At the time, Facebook said it had already suspended the app for passing data to others, and today said it was banned "for failing to agree to our request to audit and because it's clear that they shared information with researchers as well as companies with only limited protections in place." The researchers behind the project have posted an FAQ here, mentioning that their research has been used in dozens of peer-reviews papers and saying much of it focused on exposing privacy risks. The data is no longer shared, and in a statement, the university's Psychometric Centre said it had never collected info from user's friends.
Richard Lawler08.22.2018
Facebook's Cambridge Analytica woes continue with UK lawsuits
Facebook's Cambridge Analytica troubles are far from over and a new class action lawsuit over the scandal might be on the way. Wired reports today that a group of UK residents has sent the company a letter before claim, in which they highlight the many instances where the social media giant failed to protect its users' privacy and demand answers to a list of questions. Represented by UK-based law firm Irvine Thanvi Natas Solicitors, the UK residents all had their data obtained by Cambridge Analytica, and their attorney says that if their questions aren't answered within 14 days, legal action could be taken.
Mallory Locklear07.31.2018