Facebook's privacy problems: a roundup

The social media giant’s troubles have led to lawsuits, House of Commons hearings and several apologiesFacebook disclosed on Friday that a bug may have affected up to 6.8 million users, allowing app developers to see photos that users had uploaded but never posted – but this was hardly the first mea culpa the social media giant has had to send out regarding data and security as of late. Related: Facebook admits bug allowed apps to see hidden photos A whistleblower came forward in March to reveal that Cambridge Analytica improperly harvested the personal Facebook data of 50 million people in order to profile and target users for political advertisements. After five days of silence, Mark Zuckerberg apologised for his company’s “mistakes”.A bug in June caused a glitch that publicly published the posts of 14 million users that were intended to be private. Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer, apologised for the “mistake” and said the company has since fixed the glitch.Hackers were able to access and steal personal information in nearly half of the 30m accounts affected in a September security breach. The company initially believed that 50 million users were affected in an attack that gave the hackers control of accounts.Mark Zuckerberg faced accusations in a lawsuit filed by the software firm Six4Three in May that he “weaponised” the ability to access user data. The company has rejected all such claims, and has repeatedly made motions to have the case dismissed.It was... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #smartphone apps #text history

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Zuckerberg responds to 'frustrating' reports of NSA spoofing Facebook, while the agency denies them

Yesterday a report from The Intercept exposed NSA documents apparently showing how it could infect "millions" of computers with malware and even masquerade as a Facebook server. Now, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the NSA have both published... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Can A Startup Help Publishers Cut Out Twitter, Facebook, And Flipboard?

Connecting content creators and consumers would be an enormous coup for news sites, magazines, TV networks, and other media. We look at three startups that could help.At magazines like Fast Company, we rely on distribution networks to get our articles to our readers. In print, the primary... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook rewards brands for tagging

Facebook is allowing to Pages to tag one another, but brands and publishers need to judicious in how they use the new feature.The post Facebook rewards brands for tagging appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Neknominate needs health warnings on Twitter and Facebook, say councils

Local Government Association calls on websites to highlight dangers of drinking game linked to several deathsTwitter and Facebook should introduce warnings about the drinking game neknominate, which has been linked to several deaths, councils have said. The Local Government Association (LGA),... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WhatsApp is the first of several big acquisitions for Facebook

If the announcement of Facebook paying $19 billion in cash and stock for WhatsApp surprised you then maybe you’d forgotten this prediction I published on January 8th: #6 -- Facebook transforms itself (or tries to) with a huge acquisition. I wrote long ago that we’d never see Facebook in the Dow... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big acquisitions


Facebook must comply with German data protection law, court rules

Facebook has to comply with German data protection law, the Higher Court of Berlin ruled in a decision that directly contradicted an earlier decision by another court.The Berlin court confirmed a 2012 verdict that found that Facebook’s Friend Finder violated German law because it was unclear to... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #privacy policy #important victory #consumer groups #project manager #digital world


Facebook Withdrawal: Viral Publishers See Traffic Plunge

Publishers that rely on Facebook to drive large portions of their traffic are at constant risk of having the rug pulled out from under their feet. A recent algorithm tweak may have done just that. The post Facebook Withdrawal: Viral Publishers See Traffic Plunge appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #viral publishers


News UK advertises for 'privacy adviser'

Publisher of the Sun and the Times places advert for position requiring knowledge of privacy issues in the digital eraNews UK, owner of the Sun, the Times and Sunday Times, is hiring a "privacy adviser" two years after the hacking scandal threatened to engulf the company.It has advertised the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #major review #phone-hacking scandal #privacy laws


Facebook: 10 years of social networking, in numbers

Ten years today, the social networking giant has notched up some interesting numbers along the way• How Facebook became the world's biggest social network1.23bn monthly usersBy the end of 2013, Facebook boasted 1.23bn monthly active users worldwide, adding 170m in just one year. According to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #family guy #$1bn #mobile advertising


Facebook, Google and Yahoo now say when the US government requests user content (update: Microsoft too)

Last week, the US government finally relented on letting technology companies publish more detail about national security requests; today, some bigger firms are taking advantage of the looser rules. Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Yahoo have updated ... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #taking advantage


Facebook’s Looming Role as Media Kingpin

While Facebook is positioning Paper as a way for publishers to better reach -- and, hopefully, monetize -- mobile readers, Paper may make publishers too dependent on Facebook for traffic. The meteoric rise of sites like Elite Daily, Upworthy and Viral Nova shows how social-savvy publishers can... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #make publishers #meteoric rise #elite daily #substantial portion


Privacy is complicated. We're a mystery not just to others but to our ourselves | Giles Fraser

We find out so little about a person by watching them on Big Brother or reading their secrets exposed in the Daily MailWe just met half an hour ago. But I'm sitting in a Soho tapas bar, drinking sherry, and telling Josh Cohen my life story. The joke – lost on neither of us – is that he has just... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #daily mail #incurable romantic #kings place


Urdu Publishing is Up, But Copyright Problems Persist

2013 was a good year for Urdu publishing, with several notable titles hitting bookstores, but unlicensed reprinting of copyright protected works persists. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good year


How Facebook's Mobile Ad Network Could (Finally) Upend A Backwards Industry

By understanding our tastes and habits, Facebook could steal billions of dollars in ads from traditional media and get Madison Avenue out of the stone age.Facebook has never been a company lacking in foolish ambition--witness Facebook Home, Beacon, Places, and other monumental undertakings. But... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #traditional media #madison avenue #third-party publishers


If Facebook is like a disease, I don't mind getting infected

Facebook has been in the news over the past few days after a report suggested that the social network is spreading in a similar way to a virus. Like all epidemics, the report suggests, the rate of infection will ultimately drop off, leading to the suggestion that by 2017 the social network will... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #report suggested #paper published


Facebook Tries a Mobile Ad Network

A Facebook spokesperson told Digiday that the program will not port Facebook-style ad units to other apps, however. Instead, it will simply use its data to target whatever formats those app publishers currently sell. The post Facebook Tries a Mobile Ad Network appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post facebook #app publishers


Facebook to Brands: Post More Images

Brands have spent the past couple of years complaining the content they publish is rarely actually seen by users that like their pages. That's party because Facebook wants those brands to pay for ads, but also because it doesn't want them alienating users with annoying updates asking people to... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #images appeared #past couple


Facebook Testing Mobile Ad Network

Facebook is testing mobile ads that appear on apps other than its own, the company said. In a post today, Facebook says the test is for a mobile ad network it is creating. It marks an important step for the social network, showing its sponsored content outside its own properties is key to... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post today #important step #sponsored content #working directly #small number #coming months


Facebook Is Testing A News Feed That Looks More Like A Newspaper

The change is subtle, but its message is clear: Facebook has entered the news business.It's no secret that Facebook is changing what appears in your feed dramatically. Whereas memes used to rule supreme--making basically anything shared by George Takei go viral--Facebook has reweighted its... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook referrals #news business #george takei


Is Russia Starting to Solve Its Ebook Piracy Problem?

Russia's ebook market is expanding as more legitimate titles come online and efforts are made to fight piracy. Could ebook piracy finally be waning? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook market #fight piracy