Facebook suspends controversial data firm Cambridge Analytica

ronjor · Aug 1, 2019

SEC Facebook fine sparks fresh questions about Cambridge Analytica from UK Parliament

Katie Collins August 1, 2019
Politicians in Britain say the evidence Facebook provided to the SEC and to them doesn't match up.
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guest · Aug 1, 2019

Cambridge Analytica made “ethical mistakes” because it was too focused on regulation, former COO says
July 31, 2019
https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/7/3...ix-documentary-kara-swisher-podcast-interview

“The company made some significant mistakes when it came to its use of data,” Wheatland said on the latest episode of Recode Decode. “They were ethical mistakes. I think that part of the reason that that happened was that we spent a lot of time concentrating on not making regulatory mistakes ... It felt like, well, once that was done, then we’ve done what we needed to do, and we forgot to pause and think about, ethically, what was going on.”

McNamee lamented that, so far, the political repercussions for Facebook have been a slap on the wrist.
“By my very, very rough estimate, Facebook, if it were held accountable for the things that it has done, would be an unprofitable company [...] I believe that if we do not do something about making companies in the economy generally accountable for the damage they do, the political arguments are going to turn out to be irrelevant.”

Below, we’ve shared a lightly edited full transcript of Kara’s conversation with Julian, Roger, Karim, and Pedro.
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ronjor · Aug 13, 2019

Facebook denies making contradictory claims on Cambridge Analytica and other ‘sketchy’ apps

Natasha Lomas@riptari
Facebook has denied contradicting itself in evidence to the UK parliament and a US public prosecutor.Yesterday Bloomberg obtained Facebook’s response to the committee.
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guest · Aug 19, 2019

hawki said: ↑

Facebook Offers Bounty Program For Evidence Of Data Leaks
[...]
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/10/facebook-will-pay-up-to-40000-if-you-find-a-big-data-leak.html
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Facebook expands its Data Abuse Bounty program to Instagram
It will reward people for reporting third-party apps that exploit user data
August 19, 2019
https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/19/facebook-data-abuse-bounty-program-instagram-checkout/

Facebook will start rewarding security researchers who report data abuse happening on Instagram, the company has announced. This is an expansion of Facebook's Data Abuse Bounty program, which it introduced in April 2018.

Essentially, any app that asks for people's login information (like usernames and passwords) is violating Instagram's terms of use -- and Facebook wants the security community to notify it of anyone who may be taking advantage of this.

"Expanding and building on the Facebook bug bounty program is a key development in our ongoing security efforts, and we are grateful to the wider security community for all they do to help keep our platforms safe."
Now that its Data Bounty Program covers Instagram, Facebook's hope is that with help from security researchers worldwide, it can keep the popular app safe from bad actors who could misuse people's data.
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ronjor · Aug 23, 2019

Facebook learned about Cambridge Analytica as early as September 2015, new documents show

Lauren Feiner@lauren_feiner 23 Aug 2019
Communication between Facebook employees from 2015 illustrate early actions the company took to investigate third-party use of their data.
Facebook released the emails and other documents as part of the Washington, D.C. attorney general’s investigation into the Cambridge Analytica Scandal.
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guest · Aug 24, 2019

Alex Stamos, Ex-Facebook Security Chief, Blames Journalists for Cambridge Analytica Fallout
August 23, 2019
https://gizmodo.com/alex-stamos-ex-facebook-security-chief-blames-journal-1837520235

Alex Stamos, who oversaw security at Facebook when news first broke about the scandal last year, criticized BuzzFeed and “other outlets” over what he called “unbalanced reporting on privacy,” saying the media coverage of Facebook’s numerous privacy violations has been geared all along toward hampering its ability to share data for legitimate research.

“If the misuse of an API by an academic is considered the greatest privacy scandal in the history of the internet, how do you think the companies are going to treat future academic research?” he asked [...]
BuzzFeed’s tech and business editor, John Paczkowski, responded to Stamos’ criticism by calling out “a decade of disregard for user privacy and a profound lack of transparency about how our personal data is being used,” citing among other examples, Facebook’s attempt to pilfer user data through promotion of its “privacy” product, Onavo.
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Minimalist · Aug 27, 2019

How people's stance on a topic can be inferred from their online activity

As proven by some recent extreme, controversial incidents, such as the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, social media can be a real goldmine for user information. In fact, most social researchers and analytics companies perceive social media as one of the most valuable resources for understanding public opinion and how individuals react to specific events.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2019-08-people-stance-topic-inferred-online.html

guest · Sep 9, 2019

Judge lets Facebook privacy class action proceed, calls company's views 'so wrong'
September 9, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...d-calls-companys-views-so-wrong-idUSKCN1VU2G2

A federal judge on Monday ordered Facebook Inc to face most of a nationwide lawsuit seeking damages for letting third parties such as Cambridge Analytica access users’ private data, calling the social media company’s views on privacy “so wrong.”

While dismissing some claims, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said users could try to hold Facebook liable under various federal and state laws for letting app developers and business partners harvest their personal data without their consent on a “widespread” basis.
He rejected Facebook’s arguments that users suffered no “tangible” harm and had no legitimate privacy interest in information they shared with friends on social media.
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hawki · Sep 20, 2019

"Facebook suspends tens of thousands of apps following data investigation

Facebook revealed Friday that it had suspended 'tens of thousands of apps that may have mishandled users' personal data, part of an investigation sparked by the social giant's entanglement with Cambridge Analytica'..."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/tech...-thousands-apps-following-data-investigation/

ronjor · Sep 26, 2019

Facebook wins dismissal of investor lawsuit over privacy breach

Brendan Pierson September 26, 2019
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facebook Inc(FB.O) and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday won dismissal of an investor lawsuit accusing them of deceiving investors about the likely impact of a privacy breach on its stock price, though the investors will be have a chance to refile their case.
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guest · Oct 4, 2019

mood said: ↑

Turkish watchdog says it fines Facebook $271,000 for data breach
May 10, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...facebook-271000-for-data-breach-idUSKCN1SG1J6
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Turkey Fines Facebook for Breach of Data Protection Laws
October 4, 2019
https://www.securityweek.com/turkey-fines-facebook-breach-data-protection-laws

Turkey’s data protection authority says it has imposed a 1.6 million Turkish lira ($280,000) fine on Facebook for contravening the country’s data laws.

The Turkish Personal Data Protection Council said Thursday that personal data belonging to 280,959 Turkish users, including their names, gender, birth dates, relationship status, religion and search history, were compromised in the data breach.
It said Facebook failed to take “the necessary administrative and technical measures” and did not fulfill its “data protection responsibilities.”
Earlier this year, the Turkish authority had fined Facebook $289,000 over a separate data law breach relating to a software bug.
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ronjor · Oct 30, 2019

Facebook agrees to pay UK fine over Cambridge Analytica scandal

October 30, 2019
LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook has agreed to pay a 500,000 pound ($644,000) fine for breaches of data protection law related to the harvesting of data by consultancy Cambridge Analytica, Britain’s information rights regulator said on Wednesday.
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guest · Nov 6, 2019

California accuses Facebook of ignoring subpoenas in state’s Cambridge Analytica investigation
November 6, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/06/california-attorney-general-investigation-cambridge-analytica/

California’s attorney general Xavier Becerra has accused Facebook of “continuing to drag its feet” by failing to provide documents to the state’s investigation into Facebook and Cambridge Analytica.

The attorney general said in a court filing Wednesday that Facebook had provided a “patently deficient” response to two sets of subpoenas for the previously undisclosed investigation started more than a year ago. “Facebook has provided no answers for nineteen interrogatories and produced no documents in response to six document requests,” the filing said.
Becerra is now asking a court to compel Facebook to produce the documents.
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ronjor · Dec 6, 2019

U.S. FTC finds Cambridge Analytica deceived Facebook users

Nandita Bose, Susan Heavey December 6, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Friday said they had found now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica deceived consumers about the collection of Facebook Inc data for voter profiling and targeting.
The Federal Trade Commission also found that Cambridge Analytica engaged in deceptive practices relating to its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework - a pact on the cross-border transfer of personal data.
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guest · Dec 19, 2019

FTC Grants Final Approval to Settlement with Former Cambridge Analytica CEO, App Developer over Allegations they Deceived Consumers over Collection of Facebook Data
December 18, 2019
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/pre...pproval-settlement-former-cambridge-analytica

The Federal Trade Commission has granted final approval to a settlement with the former CEO of Cambridge Analytica, LLC and an app developer who worked with the company to resolve allegations they used deceptive tactics to collect personal information from tens of millions of Facebook users for voter profiling and targeting.

In its complaint, the FTC alleged that app developer Aleksandr Kogan worked with Cambridge Analytica and its former CEO Alexander Nix to enable Kogan’s GSRApp to collect Facebook data from app users and their Facebook friends. The FTC alleged that app users were falsely told the app would not collect users’ names or other identifiable information. The GSRApp, however, collected users’ Facebook User ID, which connects individuals to their Facebook profiles.

As part of the settlement, Kogan and Nix are prohibited from making false or deceptive statements regarding the extent to which they collect, use, share, or sell personal information, as well as the purposes for which they collect, use, share, or sell such information.
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guest · Dec 30, 2019

Brazil fines Facebook $1.6 million for improper sharing of user data
December 30, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...r-improper-sharing-of-user-data-idUSKBN1YY0VK

Brazil’s Ministry of Justice said on Monday it has fined U.S. tech giant Facebook Inc 6.6 million reais ($1.6 million) for improperly sharing user data.

The ministry’s department of consumer protection said it had found that data from 443,000 Facebook users was made improperly available to developers of an App called ‘thisisyourdigitallife.’
The data was being shared for “questionable” purposes, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it launched the investigation following media reports of the misuse of data by political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica in 2018.
Facebook has 10 days to appeal the decision. The fine should be paid within 30 days.
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Dermot7 · Jan 4, 2020

An explosive leak of tens of thousands of documents from the defunct data firm Cambridge Analytica is set to expose the inner workings of the company that collapsed after the Observer revealed it had misappropriated 87 million Facebook profiles.

More than 100,000 documents relating to work in 68 countries that will lay bare the global infrastructure of an operation used to manipulate voters on “an industrial scale” is set to be released over the next months.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...lytica-data-leak-global-election-manipulation

guest · Jan 17, 2020

Cambridge Analytica email chain with Facebook sheds new light on data misuse scandal
January 17, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/17/c...how-facebook-handled-the-data-misuse-scandal/

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Brittany Kaiser has released new documents today that suggest Facebook accepted only a simple acknowledgment on email from the firm that it had deleted data associated with 87 million Facebook users’ profiles.
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guest · Jan 18, 2020

hawki said: ↑

"Massachusetts says to probe Facebook, Cambridge Analytica

(Reuters) - The Massachusetts attorney general said on Saturday her office was launching an investigation after reports that Cambridge Analytica had harvested private information from more than 50 million Facebook users in developing techniques ...[for use in the] 2016 election campaign.

'Massachusetts residents deserve answers immediately from Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. We are launching an investigation,' Maura Healey said on Twitter in a post that linked to a New York Times report on the issue."

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1GT0OM?__twitter_impression=true
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Facebook must disclose app records for Massachusetts probe, judge rules
January 17, 2020
https://in.reuters.com/article/us-f...massachusetts-probe-judge-rules-idINKBN1ZG2JS

Facebook Inc has been ordered by a Massachusetts judge to turn over material to the state’s attorney general about thousands of apps that the social media company suspected may have misused customer data.

In a decision made public on Friday, Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Brian Davis said Attorney General Maura Healey had demonstrated a “substantial need” for the material, as she investigates Facebook’s privacy practices.
Healey began her probe in March 2018, following news that Facebook had let British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica access data for as many as 87 million users.

“We are pleased that the court ordered Facebook to tell our office which other app developers may have engaged in conduct like Cambridge Analytica.”
The judge gave Facebook 90 days to turn over the material Healey sought.
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Minimalist · Mar 5, 2020

Russia Is Learning How to Bypass Facebook's Disinfo Defenses

Since Russia’s stunning influence operations during the 2016 United States presidential race, state and federal officials, researchers, and tech companies have been on high alert for a repeat performance. With the 2020 election now just seven months away, though, newly surfaced social media posts indicate that Russia’s Internet Research Agency is adapting its methods to circumvent those defenses.
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https://www.wired.com/story/russia-ira-bypass-facebook-disinfo-defenses/

Krusty · Mar 9, 2020

Australian privacy watchdog launches court action against Facebook over Cambridge Analytica access

Social media giant Facebook is being taken to the Federal Court over privacy breaches relating to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The Australian Information Commissioner believes more than 300,000 Australians have had their personal data sold for a range of purposes, including political profiling.

The Commissioner launched an investigation in April 2018 after Facebook revealed up to 87 million users may have had their personal data compromised.

More to come.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-09/facebook-privacy-oaic-information-commissioner/12039642

guest · Jun 28, 2020

Facebook Inc says it does not have contractual relationship with Australian users
June 28, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/faceb...-relationship-with-australian-users-in-court/

Facebook on late Friday afternoon argued at Australian Federal Court that the handling of personal data owned by Australian users is only the responsibility of Facebook Ireland, and that the US-based Facebook Inc has no contractual relationship with these users.

The lawsuit, raised by the Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner in March, is in relation to allegations that both the US-based Facebook Inc and Facebook Ireland breached Australia's Privacy Act by repeatedly and seriously interfering with the privacy of Australians.
Facebook allegedly disclosed the personal information of over 311,000 Australians to the This Is Your Digital Life app, despite there only being 53 Australians that installed the app.
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"There is no evidence that Facebook is contracted with any users in Australia on the basis of what we've already submitted."
Senior counsel Ruth Higgins, the legal representative for the Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner, argued otherwise, saying that Facebook is a global network wherein users from around the world are able to connect with people outside of their own region.
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guest · Sep 24, 2020

Former Cambridge Analytica chief receives seven-year directorship ban
Alexander Nix handed penalty for ‘potentially unethical’ behaviour linked to scandal
September 24, 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/sep/24/cambridge-analytica-directorship-ban-alexander-nix

Alexander Nix, the former boss of Cambridge Analytica, has been banned from serving as a company director for seven years over “potentially unethical” behaviour linked to his position at the centre of a global scandal.

The Insolvency Service said Nix had allowed companies to offer potentially unethical services, including “bribery or honey-trap stings, voter disengagement campaigns, obtaining information to discredit political opponents and spreading information anonymously in political campaigns”.
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SCL Elections and five connected companies ceased trading in 2018 following revelations in the Observer about its role in harvesting data about millions of voters from social media sites such as Facebook, for use by Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.
Cambridge Analytica was found to have used the data to build a powerful software program to predict and influence choices at the ballot box.
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guest · Oct 7, 2020

ICO wraps up Cambridge Analytica investigation
October 7, 2020
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252490206/ICO-wraps-up-Cambridge-Analytica-investigation

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will shortly conclude its investigations into Cambridge Analytica and its use and processing of Facebook user data for the purposes of influencing political events, stating that all remaining lines of enquiry have now been completed as far as the available evidence allows.

In a letter to Julian Knight, chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, information commissioner Elizabeth Denham wrote that since her most recent appearance before the committee 18 months ago, the ICO had continued its investigation, analysing a “digital haystack” of materials obtained during the probe and seized under warrant.

Denham said the ICO had now been able to confirm and reinforce the findings of its previous reports. “I have therefore concluded that there is little in the vast volumes of evidence we have now worked through that has changed our initial understanding or identified new lines of enquiry that suggest they could drive new insight,” she wrote.
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ICO: Blog: Elizabeth Denham on the conclusion of the ICO’s investigation into the use of personal data in political campaigning
letter (PDF): https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/2847/documents/27859/default/

guest · Nov 21, 2020

FTC asks court to force Bannon to testify on Cambridge Analytica scandal
November 20, 2020
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/20/ftc-steve-bannon-cambridge-analytica-438834

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to force former Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon to testify under oath as part of the agency’s investigation into Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data breach.

FTC prosecutors said they want to interview Bannon as part of a probe into whether he should be found personally liable for his involvement in the breach, in which the now-defunct political data firm improperly obtained information on about 50 million Facebook users.
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Court filings: In court papers filed under seal last week, the FTC said Bannon agreed to appear for an in-person interview at the commission in September, but then didn’t show up. The FTC’s filings were unsealed Friday and a federal judge scheduled a hearing for Dec. 8 on the agency’s request.

FTC lawyers said they want to question Bannon about whether the Facebook user data collected by Cambridge Analytica still exists and was shared with anyone else.

“Any further delays in discovering additional information about where the deceptively obtained Facebook profile data may be located, or with whom it may have been shared, would further harm consumers,” the FTC’s lawyers said.
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