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Harvester of Facebook Data Wants Tighter Controls Over Privacy

Via WSJ [paywall] – Aleksandr Kogan, at a Senate hearing, calls for stronger check on obtaining users’ content – “An academic who was central to the misuse of Facebook Inc. data sought to turn the tables on internet companies by saying the government should step in to help prevent data-privacy scandals in the future. At a Senate hearing Tuesday, Aleksandr Kogan, a social psychologist and University of Cambridge lecturer, in prepared testimony called on strengthening the system of obtaining users’ consent for subsequent use of their information. That, in turn, would require government intervention, he added, because big internet companies’ profit-making interests inevitably clash with consumers’ privacy interests. Mr. Kogan shared data with Cambridge Analytica, a political data consultancy that worked with President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, that he had gathered from Facebook through an app. The academic said Tuesday he was “very regretful” for the anger that many users felt over the revelation that their data had been passed along from Facebook through him to political consultants…”

For additional information and testimony – See Also: Senate Commerce Committee Hearing June 19, 2018 – Cambridge Analytica and Other Facebook Partners: Examining Data Privacy Risks

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