Online privacy

Europe’s new privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will enter into force in May 2018. Understandably, given that data breaches and privacy violations have been in the headlines lately -- and given that the GDPR will reshuffle privacy protection in Europe and beyond -- many in the United States are looking to the GDPR for ideas of what to do - and what not to do. We think that it would be impractical and ineffective to copy and paste the GDPR to U.S. law -- the institutions and legal systems are just too different. 

What would it mean for users if Facebook offered the same privacy controls required under the European law? That is still a work in progress. In the meantime, here are some of the general requirements and rights under the new European law. Although some of the practical steps that companies must take are still being worked out, several European privacy and consumer advocates, who had pushed for the new law, offered their thoughts on what Facebook might need to do to extend the protections to its users worldwide.

A coalition of more than 20 consumer advocacy groups is expected to file a complaint with federal officials claiming that YouTube has been violating a children’s privacy law. The complaint contends that YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, has been collecting and profiting from the personal information of young children on its main site, although the company says the platform is meant only for users 13 and older.

[Analysis] Is it time to recognize that Facebook, and ‘Big Tech’ at large, may be a bug in our democracy? The Cambridge Analytica story reveals the harmful effects of business models that rely on massive data collection. What is lost is our privacy, contributing to the declining health of our democratic discourse. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the massive data comprise in an apologetic media tour. For many, Zuckerberg's response has been seen as a small concession that does not address the much bigger problem.

For Facebook, April 10, 2018 is being seen as a kind of dreaded final exam. That’s when Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s chief executive, will swap out his trademark gray T-shirts for a suit and tie, and embark on a two-day marathon of testimony on Capitol Hill. His goal? To apologize for Facebook’s missteps, reassure Congress that Facebook intends to stop foreign powers from using its service to meddle in American elections and detail the company’s plans to better protect its users’ privacy.

Facebook announced it had suspended AggregateIQ (AIQ) from its platform following reports the company may be connected to Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, SCL..

When Mark Zuckerberg testifies to Congress the week of April 9, the Facebook chief executive will face off with lawmakers who have long been itching to confront him – on everything from a privacy mishap involving 87 million users to a litany of issues that have dogged the company for years. Zuckerberg’s scheduled appearance at two congressional hearings marks the first time that the tech leader will submit to questioning at the Capitol.

[Commentary] If you think Facebook’s “Cambridge Analytica problem” is bad, just wait until Comcast and Verizon are able to do the same thing. Facebook isn’t the only company that amasses troves of data about people and leaves it vulnerable to exploitation and misuse.

Facebook was in discussions with major medical institutions about sharing user and patient data for a research project.