These members of Congress did their homework: “Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made his second of two appearances before Congress on Wednesday, enduring a five-hour session of questions from members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In contrast to their amiably confused counterparts in the Senate, members of the House committee demonstrated a generally better… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Commerce
Latest update to Privacy Badger brings a new onboarding process and other improvements
“The new onboarding process will make Privacy Badger easier to use and understand. These latest changes are just some of the many improvements EFF has made to the project, with more to come! Privacy Badger was created with the objective of protecting users from third-party tracking across the web—all users. To do this, Privacy Badger… Continue Reading
5 facts about Americans and Facebook
“Facebook is in the national spotlight this week as its co-founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, testifies before Congress. Zuckerberg is expected to face questions from lawmakers over the company’s recent disclosure that data on up to 87 million of its users may have been improperly shared with a political consulting firm during the 2016… Continue Reading
Variety – Facebook Under Fire: How Privacy Crisis Could Change Big Data Forever
Variety: “…The scandal in a nutshell: Cambridge Analytica, a U.K.-based political data analytics firm, illicitly procured the data of 50 million Facebook users — without their knowledge or consent — and then enlisted that to inform voter-targeting strategies for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. It wasn’t a hack per se. But both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica… Continue Reading
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.… Continue Reading
Are you ready? This is all the data Facebook and Google have on you
The Guardian – Dylan Curran – “The harvesting of our personal details goes far beyond what many of us could imagine. So I braced myself and had a look..Want to freak yourself out? I’m going to show just how much of your information the likes of Facebook and Google store about you without you even… Continue Reading
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… Continue Reading
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… Continue Reading
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.… Continue Reading
Guides to opting out of Facebook data collection activities
EFF – “You shouldn’t have to do this. You shouldn’t have to wade through complicated privacy settings in order to ensure that the companies with which you’ve entrusted your personal information are making reasonable, legal efforts to protect it. But Facebook has allowed third parties to violate user privacy on an unprecedented scale, and, while… Continue Reading
Google News Initiative: Building a stronger future for news
Google Blog: “…we’re launching the Google News Initiative (GNI), our effort to help journalism thrive in the digital age. The GNI signifies a major milestone in Google’s 15-year commitment to the news industry, and will bring together everything we do in collaboration with the industry—across products, partnerships, and programs—to help build a stronger future for… Continue Reading
Amazon opens a different kind of bookstore in DC
Washington Business Journal: “Amazon.com Inc.’s first brick-and-mortar bookstore in Greater Washington opened Tuesday in Georgetown. And just so all you book lovers are aware, the new Amazon Books — located at 3040 M Street NW — isn’t your average book boutique. The books available at the store are selected by a team of curators and… Continue Reading
