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 citizensCategory: terms of service
Facebook to exclude US users from some privacy enhancements
There’s no way to sugarcoat this message: Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg believes North America users of his platform deserve a lower data protection standard than people everywhere else in the world. In a phone interview with Reuters yesterday Mark Zuckerberg declined to commit to universally implementing changes to the platform that are necessary to comply with […]
View More Facebook to exclude US users from some privacy enhancementsGrindr hit with privacy complaint in Europe over sharing user data
The Norwegian Consumer Council has filed a privacy complaint about Grindr, arguing it’s in breach of national and European data protection laws after it emerged the dating app has been sharing personal information about its users with third parties. As we reported earlier, Norwegian research outfit SINTEF analyzed the app’s traffic and found that — if set — […]
View More Grindr hit with privacy complaint in Europe over sharing user dataIt was not consent, it was concealment
Facebook’s response to the clutch of users who are suddenly woke — triggered to delve into their settings by the Facebook data misuse scandal and #DeleteFacebook backlash — to the fact the social behemoth is, quietly and continuously, harvesting sensitive personal data about them and their friends tells you everything you need to know about the rotten state […]
View More It was not consent, it was concealmentFTC 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 scandalMozilla pulls ads off Facebook over data access concerns
Mozilla has announced it’s suspending its advertising on Facebook in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica privacy controversy — saying it has concerns the current default privacy settings remain risky, and having decided to take a fresh look at Facebook’s app permissions following the latest user data handling scandal. This week the New York Times […]
View More Mozilla pulls ads off Facebook over data access concernsFacebook’s tracking of non-users ruled illegal again
Another blow for Facebook in Europe: Judges in Belgium have once again ruled the company broke privacy laws by deploying technology such as cookies and social plug-ins to track Internet users across the web. Read More
German court finds fault with Facebook’s default privacy settings
A court in Germany has ruled that Facebook’s default privacy settings and some of its terms and conditions breached local laws. The Berlin court passed judgement late last month but the verdict was only made public this week. Read More
Digital minister’s app lands on data watchdog’s radar after privacy cock-up
The Matt Hancock app, which launched this week and quickly ran into a storm of criticism for displaying an unfortunately lax attitude to privacy, has caught the attention of the UK’s data watchdog. Awkward. Read More
Facebook starts polishing its privacy messaging ahead of GDPR
As the May 25 deadline for compliance with the EU’s updated privacy framework fast approaches Facebook is continuing to PR the changes it’s making to try to meet the new data protection standard — and steer away from the specter of fines that can scale as high as 4% of a company’s global turnover. Read More
France puts Facebook on notice over WhatsApp data transfers
Facebook and WhatsApp have been issued with formal notices by France’s data protection watchdog warning that data transfers being carried out for ‘business intelligence’ purposes currently lack a legal basis — and consequently that Facebook Inc, WhatsApp’s owner, has violated the French Data Protection Act. Read More
FCC will vote whether to delete net neutrality on December 14
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today made good on his long-standing pledge to tackle regulations established in the last administration designed to protect the distribution of internet content. On Tuesday Pai distributed a draft of his suggested rule changes under the auspices of the “Restoring Internet Freedom Order” to the other commissioners at the FCC. The… Read More