Cambridge Analytica Took 50M Facebook Users’ Data Yet Facebook says it isn’t at fault

As the founder of Share Talk LTD, and as a company, we are aware of the moral and legal duty of running social media sites that we have to respect our users’ data, privacy, information that all websites collect through the use of cookies, software, subscription services and IP address must stay private. As members of The Information Commissioner’s Office and under EU & UK law must stay within the legal guidelines laid down.

With a database of over 3,500 individuals plus, we have a legal obligation and as a brand, we have to respect our users, so that begs the question “What Makes FaceBook Different” the answer NOTHING.

Tweet figure above is incorrect, the document is 347 pages long to be precise 

Here is something to think about, not all companies play by the rules and the next time you are giving away your date of birth, mobile number, gender, home address, car registration, the list goes on, WHAT happens to that information?

For some strange reason, the general public is still under this misguided myth that everything is free on the tinternet and you have no reason to worry about giving away your personal details. Well, you are in for a shock because of the next time the phone rings and someone is asking if you have been in a road accident, trying to sell you double glazing etc YOU know that information has been sold by the very sites, blogs, apps the list goes on, that you give away your information too.

Is this Illegal without your consent, YES, so always read the small print and tick that box that does not allow sharing your details with third parties? Of course, we look across social media today and see websites sites in our space are not conforming to the data protection act – laws. Bottom line is if you only collect email address you fall under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect on 25th May 2018.

EU Compliance Evolves. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) proposed by the European Commission will strengthen and unify data protection for individuals within the European Union (EU), whilst addressing the export of personal data outside the EU.

GDPR Compliance Requirements

This EU compliance regulation will have a far-reaching impact for organizations throughout the world.

With the demise of Safe Harbor, U.S. companies that export and handle the personal data of European citizens will also need to comply with the new requirements put forth or be subject to the same consequences.

If your organization suffers a data breach, under the new EU compliance standard, the following may apply depending on the severity of the breach:

• Your organization must notify the local data protection authority and potentially the owners of the breached records
• Your organization could be fined up to 4% of global turnover or €20 million

Organizations will also need a way to verify the legitimacy of user identities and transactions and to prove compliance. It is critical that the security controls in place be demonstrable and auditable.

So that brings us on to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg a man who think’s he can basically do what he wants and think that his company will face no consequences, sorry to say but the clock is ticking and the European Union has already put a shot across his bow, yet he chose to ignore the threat. Back in May 2017, Facebook was fined $122 million by the European Union, over charges that it misled regulators during its 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp.

Mark Zuckerberg in 2009: Facebook privacy is central – BBC News

Listen to his answer when asked about who is going to own the FaceBook content (0.35 second ) and his reply!

Why Google, Facebook, and Amazon Should Worry About Europe

Europe’s strict data and privacy laws, meanwhile, are showing their bite. Facebook has been dinged for privacy infractions related to its WhatsApp acquisition, while other companies have run up bills scrubbing information under “right to be forgotten” laws. The General Data Protection Regulation, a new legal regime intended to give EU citizens more control over their data, could create still more heartburn for U.S. general counsels when it goes into effect next year. Noncompliance with the GDPR could incur eye-popping penalties of up to 4% of a company’s global revenues. Such laws are not just a nuisance but a barrier to future growth: For the likes of Facebook and Google, they could choke off the user data that turbocharges their advertising businesses. Source

We have watched the mighty Fleecebook believe that for some strange reason they are not answerable to the very people who use their product, read on and you will get an idea of what is really going on and how Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg must pay attention

Source of tweets

Facebook’s chief security officer, Alex Stamos, tweeted a lengthy defence of the company, which also included a helpful explanation for how this came about. (He later deleted the tweets, saying he “should have done a better job weighing in,” though you can see screenshots of some of them above.)

ON MARCH 17, 2018, The New York Times, alongside The Guardian and The Observer, reported that Cambridge Analytica, a data analysis firm that worked on President Trump’s 2016 campaign, and its related company, Strategic Communications Laboratories, pilfered the data of 50 million Facebook users and secretly kept it. This revelation and its implications, that Facebook allowed data from millions of its users to be captured and improperly used to influence the presidential election, ignited a conflagration that threatens to engulf the already tattered reputation of the embattled social media giant.

For five days, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, remained what many called “deafeningly silent,” before finally posting a lengthy response to his personal Facebook page. He then spoke to a small handful of news outlets, including WIRED, offering apologies, conceding mistakes, and, surprisingly, even entertaining regulation for his sprawling company.

From the moment the news about Cambridge broke, the media hydrant gushed out report after report. For those who want a linear representation of the week’s news, below you can find WIRED’s extensive Cambridge Analytica coverage—which dates back nearly two years.

Cambridge Analytica Suspends CEO Alexander Nix Amid Scandals

The next body blow came to Cambridge Analytica, with the company suspending its CEO on March 20, 2018.

Mark Zuckerberg Speaks, But Is He Listening?

After the interview came the parsing of Zuckerberg’s comments, including one analysis from WIRED’s own Jason Tanz. “[Zuckerberg] neglects the fact that Facebook itself is the source of much of that change. The debates around fake news and hate speech did not happen to befall Facebook; we are having them in part because of Facebook. Zuckerberg often paints his company in this light, as fundamentally reflecting its users’ and society’s behaviour rather than shaping it. Fixing fake news is a ‘hard problem’—ignoring Facebook’s role in creating the problem in the first place. The social norms around privacy are ‘just something that’s evolved over time,’ a stance that elides his company’s interest in nudging that evolution along.”

Source of Article 

Facebook’s share price could halve in the next few years

Facebook is “a trivial use of modern technology and one that’s rather sinister

Jim Mellon of the Burnbrae Group.

Original Interview Channel Link via .cnbc.com

Question: You have been critical of the huge influence these companies have. I know that’s a conversation that we had last time. You know when you when you look so how these companies operate. The question is are we going to continue to see the growth in these stocks given that earnings have been very positive that they are now up to date. They continue to grow. When we talk about like you mentioned what could be coming. How is it going to disrupt the business model? That’s right now.

Jim Mellon: Good question. But I think that basically, that growth is behind us because the fines are going to be enormous they are going to be bigger than those would be levied on the banks in the last decade or so. And at the same time with this talk about a breakup directly and also about which I think might happen actually, I was told by a very eminent analyst that these companies could employ the U.S. governments could step in and break it up. The European Commission of course which has been leading the charge on this basically the years come out and said that they’re thinking about breaking up Google. They have already levied very substantial signs on Google which they haven’t yet paid but they will have to pay. And I think more fines are coming, this Facebook thing is just the icing on the cake. I mean if I was Mr. Zuckerberg I’d be looking at a halving of my share price in the next couple of years.

Question: It sounds like this sounds like we are back in the 90’s with Microsoft getting caught up in litigation in the courts.

Jim Mellon: Microsoft is about market dominance. This is much more serious as it’s about people’s privacy. And the Cambridge analytic thing is just the tip of the iceberg. And I think we’re going to see a decimation of particularly Facebook and quite right too. You know it’s it’s a trivial use of mobile technology. One that is rather sinister, there are far better ways to invest in technology, particularly in biotech that can have a positive impact on human beings as opposed to a time-wasting impact to two billion people around the world

First lawsuits begin to pile in over Facebook data collection as three users SUE the firm seeking class-action status after it admitted it logged calls and texts from Android devices

Three users sue Facebook over the collection of call and text history from CNBC.

Three users of the Facebook Messenger app sued Facebook on Tuesday, saying the social network violated their privacy by collecting logs of their phone calls and text messages, in the latest legal challenge facing the company.

The U.S. lawsuit filed in federal court in the Northern District of California seeks status as a class action on behalf of all affected users and asks for unspecified damages.

A Facebook representative could not immediately be reached for comment.

Facebook, which is reeling from a scandal over its handling of personal data, on Sunday acknowledged that it had been logging some users’ call and text history but said it had done so only when users of the Android operating system had opted in.

Facebook said on Sunday that it does not collect the content of calls or text messages, and that information is securely stored. The data is not sold to third parties, it said.

Android is owned by Alphabet’s Google, which is not named as a defendant in the suit.

Mark Zuckerberg Lost $10 Billion in One Week After Facebook’s Privacy Scandal

Facebook’s stock plummeted this week following news that Cambridge Analytica misused 50 million Facebook users’ data. And the controversy also hit Mark Zuckerberg’s wallet.

The CEO, whose wealth largely comes from his roughly 403 million shares of Facebookstock (he only takes a $1 salary), lost $10 billion over the past week as the Cambridge Analytica crisis played out.

Source

Can things get any worse for FaceBook apart from public mistrust, brand damage and share price dip?

Committee calls on Mark Zuckerberg to give evidence to Fake News inquiry

This story has a long way to run yet, but the one parting thought l will leave you with, when a company chooses its own avenue name as “Hackers Way” you do get the impression someone is taking the piss, just saying

@ABMckinley

Share Talk welcomes the introduction of GDPR and is fully committed to achieving compliance with GDPR. We completely understand our obligation to our customers and we value our customers (and their customer’s) personal data rights. Here’s what we are doing:

GDPR Analysis: We have thoroughly analysed GDPR requirements and we have put in place a dedicated internal team to drive our organisation to meet those requirements.

Identifying Personal Data: We are currently in the process of identifying the different levels of personal data that is collected, stored, used and disposed. It’ll help us establish a roadmap for becoming compliant with the new regulation.

Being Visible & Achieving Transparency: In the light of the powerful role data plays in the modern day, providing visibility and transparency on how collected personal data is used is of utmost importance. Identifying the different levels of personal data will help us explore the best way in which we can achieve transparency and provide visibility to our customers.

Enhancing Data Security: We give data security great importance. We are reviewing our policies to further enhance data privacy and data security measures.

Data Portability: We are exploring ways of streamlining data exporting capabilities so as to give a helping hand to our customers who are concerned about their personal data.