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Congress questions data firm led by ex-Cambridge Analytica employee
The Congress wants to know where new data and behavioral science company Data Propria gets its information and how it uses whatever it collects. Not just because it resembles Cambridge Analytica, but also because it was founded by former Cambridge Analytica employee Matt Oczkowski. Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have sent a letter to Oczkowski demanding to know whether his company is in possession of any data collected by Aleksandr Kogan. If you'll recall, Kogan was the researcher who built the personality quiz app that collected data from Facebook users, which he then sold to Cambridge Analytica.
Senators want to know how Facebook shares data with device makers
If you're concerned that Facebook may have shared more of your data with device makers than you were comfortable with, you're not alone. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey have sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg asking him to answer questions on Facebook's approach to sharing data with device partners like Apple, BlackBerry and Samsung. They want to know how it distinguishes between hardware companies and app developers, which companies have had access so far (including through exemptions), and what safeguards it has in place to both prevent abuse and give users a chance to opt out.
