All posts in User Data
Facebook has won an appeal against a German agency’s restrictions on data collection
A regional court in Germany has ruled in favor of Facebook’s appeal against a February order by the nation’s antitrust watchdog, preventing the social media giant from combining user data collected from its various platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. An order from the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) in February had accused Facebook of abusing […]
Facebook unveils ‘Clear History’ feature, giving users more control over data
Facebook is rolling out a “Clear History” feature that will allow users to disconnect their accounts from data collected from third-party websites and apps, according to The Verge. The move comes following several delays, more than a year after CEO Mark Zuckerberg first announced plans for the feature at Facebook’s 2018 developer conference, in the wake […]
Facebook workers are transcribing private user conversations on Messenger
Facebook has admitted to revealing audio recordings of private user conversations to hundreds of outside contractors, hired to improve the accuracy of its artificial intelligence, according to revelations first disclosed in a Tuesday report from Bloomberg. On Wednesday, the Irish Data Protection Commission, in charge of supervision of Facebook in the EU, said it was evaluating whether […]
Equifax to pay $700m to US regulators, over a data breach that affected 150m people
Equifax has agreed to pay up to $700 million in a settlement over a 2017 data breach that exposed the records and social security numbers of at least 147 million people, according to The Guardian. The incident was among the largest ever breaches of private data, and the settlement will be the largest of its kind ever […]
US fines Facebook $5bn over Cambridge Analytica, as Europe steps up data enforcement
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted last week to issue a $5 billion (€4.46 billion) fine against Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which they claim that Facebook violated a prior agreement to not misuse consumer data. The move comes as European authorities levy increasingly large fines against companies over their handling of […]
UK authorities fine Marriott £99 million over data breach
The UK’s data protection authority is issuing a £99 million fine against US hotel company Marriott, over a data breach that exposed personal information from over 330 million guests, according to BBC News. Marriott reported the incident last year, although it dates back to 2014. Hackers breached the central reservation database of Starwood, a rival hotel group […]
Italy fines Facebook €1 million over Cambridge Analytica violations
Italy has issued a €1 million fine against Facebook for violations of its online privacy laws with last year’s Cambridge Analytica revelations, according to Tech Crunch. In March of 2018, it was revealed that personal data had been collected from 87 million Facebook users, mostly without their permission or knowledge, by the political consulting firm Cambridge […]