Category «Privacy»

More insights into Facebook debacle surface

Vanity Fair – “Each time a fresh scandal plays out at Facebook, the company positions itself as playing catch-up. Apparently alarmed and dismayed at the ready spread of fake news on its platform, Facebook de-emphasized posts from media companies. Faced with a decline in user trust, Facebook admitted it might be inherently damaging to democracy. …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Americans’ complicated feelings about social media in an era of privacy concerns

“Amid public concerns over Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data and a subsequent movement to encourage users to abandon Facebook, there is a renewed focus on how social media companies collect personal information and make it available to marketers. Pew Research Center has studied the spread and impact of social media since 2005, when just …

Subjects: Privacy, Social Media

Facebook Container Extension: Take control of how you’re being tracked

Mozilla: “Our Multi-Account Containers extension has been a game changer for many users, letting them manage various parts of their online life without intermingling their accounts. To help Firefox users have more control of their data on Facebook, we’ve created the Facebook Container Extension. This extension helps you control more of your web activity from …

Subjects: Internet, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

FB says – It’s Time to Make Our Privacy Tools Easier to Find – ya think!

Facebook News: “Last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies and help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data. We’ve heard loud and clear that privacy settings and other important tools are too hard to find and that we must do more …

Subjects: E-Commerce, EU Data Protection, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

How Amazon Helped Cambridge Analytica Harvest Americans’ Facebook Data

In yet another development in the unfolding saga of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica’s activities – the following via Fast Company: How Amazon Helped Cambridge Analytica Harvest Americans’ Facebook Data“Facebook has been rocked by reports of a massive data scrape carried out by Cambridge Analytica and one of its then-contractors, a Cambridge University academic named Aleksandr …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Commentary – How the FTC Could Have Prevented the Facebook Mess

Techonomy Exclusive – Marc Rotenberg: “Here comes an understatement: Facebook’s failure to protect user data was well known before the company suspended dealings with Cambridge Analytica last week. What is not well known is that the transfer of 50 million user records to the controversial data mining and political consulting firm could have been avoided …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

DOJ Revives Push to Mandate a Way to Unlock Phones

The New York Times: “Federal law enforcement officials are renewing a push for a legal mandate that tech companies build tools into smartphones and other devices that would allow access to encrypted data in criminal investigations. F.B.I. and Justice Department officials have been quietly meeting with security researchers who have been working on approaches to …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Mail, E-Records, Legal Research, Privacy

The Economist identifies critical steps for Facebook to move forward

The Economist – Editorial – “Facebook faces a reputational meltdown: This is how it, and the wider industry, should respond.” “Facebook is not about to be banned or put out of business, but the chances of a regulatory backlash are growing. Europe is inflicting punishment by a thousand cuts, from digital taxes to antitrust cases. …

Subjects: E-Commerce, EU Data Protection, Privacy, Social Media

Bolton Super PAC early client of Cambridge Analytica

The New York Times: “The political action committee founded by John R. Bolton, President Trump’s incoming national security adviser, was one of the earliest customers of Cambridge Analytica, which it hired specifically to develop psychological profiles of voters with data harvested from tens of millions of Facebook profiles, according to former Cambridge employees and company …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media