Last year, Facebook was publicly embroiled in Cambridge Analytica’s data collection scandal, causing CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear before a number of government officials to defend his company. It turns out that the narrative isn’t quite what Facebook claimed it was, as recently unearthed emails show that the social network …
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Ex-Cambridge Analytica staff plan to combat terrorism… by guzzling data from Google
Back in May, Cambridge Analytica buckled under the pressure of its Facebook scandal becoming public, with many of its members shuffling over to Emerdata Limited. It turns out that Emerdata is not the only company sharing the ideals of its predecessor, as many Cambridge Analytica alumni have gone on to …
Read More »Cambridge Analytica could face consequences if it doesn’t hand over data on US citizen
Cambridge Analytica might have come to the end, filing for bankruptcy and shutting itself down, but that hasn’t marked the end of the company’s troubles. The company now faces criminal charges if it refuses to hand over the data it has on a US citizen, as per a demand by …
Read More »Cambridge Analytica officially closes down, but might have already been replaced
After five years of operation, Cambridge Analytica is closing its doors, citing its media vilification from Facebook’s privacy controversy as the reason for driving away its clients. It seems that there’s more to this than a simple closure, however, with many staff of the liquidated firm already heading a new …
Read More »Twitter admits to selling data to Cambridge Analytica-affiliate Aleksandr Kogan
Aleksandr Kogan gained notoriety thanks to his involvement in the recent Facebook scandals, where he collected user data and facilitated a deal with Cambridge Analytica without user consent. Now, it seems that Twitter has admitted to selling data to the same man, albeit restricted to public data only. Twitter admitted …
Read More »Facebook’s FTC-authorised audit missed Cambridge Analytica scandal
Back in 2011, the Federal Trade Commission struck a deal with Facebook to have its privacy practices audited once every two years by an external company. The system has now been called into question, after its 2017 audit failed to detect behind the scenes activity surrounding the Cambridge Analytica scandal. …
Read More »Lawyers across the world gear up for class-action lawsuit against Facebook and Cambridge Analytica
Facebook itself is under a lot of scrutiny thanks to the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting, with pretty much all eyes across the world pointed in its direction. It has a lot to make up for, as CEO Zuckerberg stated once again in front of US Congress, but first it might …
Read More »Facebook reveals Cambridge Analytica debacle hit 37 million more users than previously expected
Thanks to a Facebook policy that has since been rectified, Cambridge Analytica managed to get its hands on mass amounts of user data. This has caused a major fallout for the social media platform, with numbers hitting as high as 50 million affected. Chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer has now …
Read More »Zuckerberg finally pipes up about Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been noticeably absent since news broke of Cambridge Analytica harvesting millions upon millions of its users’ data, but he’s finally come out of hiding to address the scandal. Admitting the company’s “mistakes,” Zuckerberg focused more on what actions the firm will take to clean up …
Read More »Facebook braces itself for potential record-breaking $5 billion fine from the FTC
Last year, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into Facebook’s privacy practices, hoping to determine whether or not the social network violated a 2011 agreement. The company isn’t holding its breath for the verdict however, as its first quarter financial reports earmark $3 billion for a potential …
Read More »Activision is paying employees to harvest their health data
It’s fair to say that Activision Blizzard isn’t the world’s favourite company after its cost cutting measures resulted in mass layoffs and its investors claim to have been misled by Bungie’s split. Recent reports of the company offering to collect data from its employees isn’t going to help matters, but …
Read More »Over 540 million Facebook activity records have been exposed on a public server
Two large datasets were found on public servers yesterday, exposing hundreds of millions of Facebook records. The social network has launched an investigation to determine whether the data was used maliciously, after it was found to contain account names, Facebook IDs, comments, likes, reactions and, in a number of cases, …
Read More »Mark Zuckerberg appeals to governments for more internet regulation
In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg openly opposed the strict enforcement of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). More recently however, Zuckerberg has had a change of heart with aims of a more “privacy focused” Facebook, calling upon governments around the world to …
Read More »Facebook is cooperating with criminal investigators over the data it shared with partners
It’s been known for quite some time that Facebook’s partnerships with companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Spotify granted “deep access” to data, allegedly without the user’s consent. Facebook maintains that this is not the case, and is now hoping that US authorities will come to the same conclusion in …
Read More »Is it too little, too late for Mark Zuckerberg to promise a “privacy focused” Facebook?
Facebook has become the poster child for data misuse in recent years, from Cambridge Analytica to run-ins with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). CEO Mark Zuckerberg is attempting to change that image, announcing that he wants to make Facebook a “privacy-focused platform.” Announcing the upcoming method of …
Read More »Facebook is finally introducing a way to clear history this year
The Cambridge Analytica controversy shed a harsh light on Facebook’s data collection, prompting CEO Mark Zuckerberg to announce a myriad of privacy features on their way to the platform. Among these new options is a means to delete your own history, which will finally be arriving sometime later this year. …
Read More »Leo Says 34: Recap over 2018, Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Financials & more !
Leo has a lot to say today - in his recap over 2018
Read More »Facebook once considered selling user data directly
Although Facebook maintains that it hasn’t ever sold user data, internal documents pulled by the UK Parliament suggest that the firm did consider the option between 2012 and 2014.
Read More »Facebook appeals “unjustified” £500,000 ICO fine
Following a maximum £500,000 fine issued by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in July, Facebook began reviewing ways to contest the punishment. It seems the appeal is finally under way, with the social network labelling the effort as “unjustified.” ICO’s reasoning for pushing its top fine was due to …
Read More »Twitter cracks down on political propaganda before tomorrow’s US midterm election
In an effort to crack down on political misinformation, Twitter has culled another 10,000 propagators discouraging Democratic voters.
Read More »Facebook is looking to contest £500,000 ICO fine, stating that the UK was unaffected
Update (25/10/18): In July, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued Facebook with a £500,000 fine in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal – the maximum fine allowed by 1998’s Data Protection Act. The decision doesn’t sit well with Facebook, however, as the social network prepares plans to contest …
Read More »Facebook hopes to restore faith by acquiring a major cybersecurity firm
Facebook has lost a lot of trust throughout 2018 after a number of security issues have come to light. The social network stated that it wouldn’t replace its security chief following the departure of Alex Stamos, but that hasn’t stopped the company throwing cash at major cybersecurity firms in order …
Read More »Lawsuit accuses Facebook of trying to cover up its misleading view time metrics
Back in 2016, it was revealed that Facebook had been misleading advertisers for two years due to a botched algorithm that overestimated viewing time averages by up to 80 percent. Although Facebook claims it was an accident, a lawsuit from marketing agency Crowd Siren alleges that social network had known …
Read More »Facebook clamps down on hundreds of political accounts leading up to midterm elections
Twitter’s effort to stomp out propaganda might be stagnant, but Facebook isn’t sitting idly by as the US midterm elections rapidly approach. Moving on from the many Russian-originated accounts banned for breaching Facebook terms and conditions, the social media site has now had to put hundreds of US-based political accounts …
Read More »Facebook risks EU punishment if it doesn’t comply with consumer laws
At the start of the year, the European Union (EU) introduced new laws intended to protect consumer rights, forcing companies to change their terms of service (ToS) in order to comply. While Facebook made effort in March to reluctantly adapt to the new regulations, it seems that the firm has …
Read More »Facebook won’t be replacing its security chief following the departure Alex Stamos
Facebook hasn’t had the best year for security and privacy following the reveal of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, with founder Mark Zuckerberg often trying to talk his way out of a jam. Now, the platform’s security chief Alex Stamos will be leaving and it looks like Facebook won’t be replacing …
Read More »Investigation finds Facebook moderators trained to overlook certain kinds of abusive content
Facebook has been at the centre of a few major controversies recently. The social network has been embroiled in everything from privacy scandals to politics. Another long-criticised aspect of Facebook is the inconsistent moderation of offensive material. Similar to the undercover Cambridge Analytica investigation, an undercover reporter has since tackled …
Read More »Facebook leaks sensitive developer data to testers outside the company
The beginning of this year marked the opening of Pandora’s box for Facebook, revealing a plethora of botched data handling practices that began with Cambridge Analytica. The latest in the long line of privacy concerns comes from the social media platform accidentally leaking sensitive analytical reports to app testers instead …
Read More »Facebook talks ‘shadow profiles’ and data policies in 454-page response to Congress
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the US Congress in April, facing tough questions surrounding the social media site’s data handling practices. The founder has now made good on his promises to follow-up on the questions he expertly dodged during the hearing by submitting a 454-page report. Both the 225-page …
Read More »Apple adds new guidelines to stop developers from sharing user friend data
Apple is currently making a lot of changes to its developer guidelines to bring it up to speed with a rapidly changing landscape. Apple’s latest change sees restrictions on what developers can do with data accrued about the users’ friends. These new changes can be found in the 5.1.2 Data …
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