The recent Facebook-Cambridge Analytica chaos has ignited a fire of awareness, bringing the risks of today’s data surveillance culture to the forefront of mainstream conversations. This episode and the many disturbing prospects it has emphasized have forcefully awakened a sleeping giant: people seeking information about their privacy settings and updating their apps permissions, a “Delete […]
View More Facebook and the perils of a personalized choice architectureCategory: Federal Trade Commission
Uber to stop storing precise location pick-ups/drop-offs in driver logs
Uber is planning to tweak the historical pick-up and drop-off logs that drivers can see in order to slightly obscure the exact location, rather than planting an exact pin in it (as now). The idea is to provide a modicum more privacy for users while still providing drivers with what look set to be remain […]
View More Uber to stop storing precise location pick-ups/drop-offs in driver logsQualcomm extends NXP deal deadline following concern from Chinese government
The ongoing saga continues. Qualcomm has once again postponed the deadline for completing its proposed acquisition of NXP following concerns voiced by the Ministry of Commerce in China. The deal was first announced in October 2016 and things seemed to be progressing when Qualcomm raised its offer this past January to take the value of the deal […]
View More Qualcomm extends NXP deal deadline following concern from Chinese governmentData experts on Facebook’s GDPR changes: Expect lawsuits
Make no mistake: Fresh battle lines are being drawn in the clash between data-mining tech giants and Internet users over people’s right to control their personal information and protect their privacy. An update to European Union data protection rules next month — called the General Data Protection Regulation — is the catalyst for this next chapter […]
View More Data experts on Facebook’s GDPR changes: Expect lawsuitsZuckerberg makes case for privacy regs with teeth — by failing to remember non-existent FTC fine
Chalk up a sharp political point in support for privacy legislation with actual teeth: In today’s testimony in front of the House Energy & Commerce committee, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was asked about the outcomes of a string of legal actions against the company — most of which he claimed not be aware of. One which he […]
View More Zuckerberg makes case for privacy regs with teeth — by failing to remember non-existent FTC fineFacebook did not inform the FTC about initial Cambridge Analytica leak
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary and Commerce, Science, and Transportation committees, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said that his company did not notify the Federal Trade Commission about the initial user data leak that triggered its most recent privacy scandal. “They considered it a ‘closed case’,”Zuckerberg said in response to a question over whether […]
View More Facebook did not inform the FTC about initial Cambridge Analytica leakA brief history of Facebook’s privacy hostility ahead of Zuckerberg’s testimony
The Facebook founder will be questioned by the Senate Judiciary and Senate Commerce Committees later today — in a session entitled “Facebook, Social Media Privacy, and the Use and Abuse of Data.” Mark Zuckerberg is also due to testify before Congress on Wednesday — to be asked about the company’s use and protection of user […]
View More A brief history of Facebook’s privacy hostility ahead of Zuckerberg’s testimonyFacebook data scandal also affects 2.7M EU citizens
Another data-point to flesh out the Facebook data misuse scandal: The company has informed the European Commission that a total of 2.7 million EU citizens had their information improperly shared with the controversial political consultancy, Cambridge Analytica (via Reuters). Facebook had already revealed a breakdown of the top ten markets of affected users. But in […]
View More Facebook data scandal also affects 2.7M EU citizensFacebook data misuse scandal affects “substantially” more than 50M, claims Wylie
Chris Wylie, the former Cambridge Analytica employee turned whistleblower whose revelations about Facebook data being misused for political campaigning has wiped billions off the share price of the company in recent days and led to the FTC opening a fresh investigation, has suggested the scale of the data leak is substantially larger than has been […]
View More Facebook data misuse scandal affects “substantially” more than 50M, claims WylieFTC confirms probe into Facebook data misuse scandal
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has confirmed it’s investigating Facebook’s privacy practices in light of the data misuse scandal currently engulfing the company. In a statement regarding reported concerns about Facebook’s privacy practices today, Tom Pahl, acting director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said: The FTC is firmly and fully committed […]
View More FTC confirms probe into Facebook data misuse scandalFacebook hit with shareholder lawsuits over data misuse crisis
The lawsuits are piling up against Facebook in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data misuse and political ad targeting scandal. According to SF Gate the company has been hit with four suits in federal courts so far this week following fresh revelations about how Facebook’s app permissions were abused to surreptitiously suck out vast amounts […]
View More Facebook hit with shareholder lawsuits over data misuse crisisFTC shuts down crypto Ponzi schemers
The FTC has announced that they’ve issued temporary restraining orders and frozen the assets of a team of three defendants who pitched investment advice as the Bitcoin Funding Team and My7Network. The FTC claims that the defendants “promised big rewards for a small payment of bitcoin or Litecoin.” From the report: According to the FTC, […]
View More FTC shuts down crypto Ponzi schemers