<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2>In the land of Facebook things are getting tough.</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":345} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/IMG_1081-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-345" /></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Today in the news :<a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/over-540-million-facebook-records-found-on-exposed-aws-servers/"> Over 540 million Facebook records found on exposed AWS servers.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>As <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-03/millions-of-facebook-records-found-on-amazon-cloud-servers">Millions of Facebook Records Found on Amazon Cloud Servers</a> .</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>On the other hand, The Economist reveals that <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2019/04/04/facebooks-ad-system-seems-to-discriminate-by-race-and-gender">Facebook’s ad system seems to discriminate by race and gender.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Facebook has been under scrutiny by the US FTC and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/14/18225440/facebook-multibillion-dollar-ftc-fine-privacy-violations">could reportedly face multibillion-dollar FTC fine over privacy violations.&nbsp;</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In November 2018 'The UK Parliament used a rarely-used procedure to compel an app developer to seize a number of internal Facebook documents related to the company’s decision-making process preceding the Cambridge Analytica scandal,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/24/mps-seize-cache-facebook-internal-papers?CMP=share_btn_tw">reports&nbsp;<em>The Guardian</em></a>. The documents reportedly contain “significant revelations” about the decisions that set the stage for the Cambridge Analytica scandal.' Reported <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/25/18111007/uk-parliament-seized-internal-facebook-documents-app-developer-six4three-cambridge-analytica">the Verge</a>.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In October 2018 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/25/facebook-fined-uk-privacy-access-user-data-cambridge-analytica">UK fined Facebook £500,000 for failing to protect user data.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>'The British government is going to hit social media firms with fines potentially worth billions of dollars if they fail to rid their platforms of harmful content.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In an interview with Business Insider, the U.K.'s digital minister Margot James said a new independent tech regulator will be given powers to punish companies, including Facebook and Google, which don't properly protect users.' As reported by <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/329195">The Entrepreneur.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Facing scrutiny, Facebook reportedly hired a PR firm that wrote negative articles about rivals Apple, Google, reports <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/14/facebook-hired-pr-firm-that-wrote-negative-articles-about-rivals-nyt.html">CNBC</a>.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Facing scrutiny, Facebook reportedly hired a PR firm that wrote negative articles about rivals Apple, Google, reports <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/14/facebook-hired-pr-firm-that-wrote-negative-articles-about-rivals-nyt.html">CNBC.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Not enough? <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2019/04/04/facebooks-ad-system-seems-to-discriminate-by-race-and-gender">Facebook’s ad system seems to discriminate by race and gender</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Trying hard to avoid to drawn <a href="https://gizmodo.com/facebook-is-paying-a-british-newspaper-to-run-facebook-1833797033">Facebook Is Paying a British Newspaper to Run Facebook-Friendly Sponsored Content.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In November 2018 <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/15/18097346/facebook-definers-opposition-research-george-soros-mark-zuckerberg-sharyl-sandberg">The Verge </a>reported : 'One of the bigger bombshells in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/technology/facebook-data-russia-election-racism.html?action=click&amp;module=inline&amp;pgtype=Homepage"><em>The New York Times</em>’ massive Facebook investigation published yesterday</a>&nbsp;was that the company had hired an opposition research and consulting firm known as Definers Public Affairs, which it said had created deceptive news posts and pushed them onto a network of conservative websites. Now, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he has no idea who hired them.' </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Facebook tries to <a href="https://www.prnewsonline.com/facebook-regulation">Flunk PR With Its Call for Regulation.&nbsp;</a>‘People shouldn’t have to rely on individual companies’ to address issues such as privacy and hate speech, Zuckerberg says in op-edcalls&nbsp;for&nbsp;stronger&nbsp;regulation' Reports <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-chief-mark-zuckerberg-wants-more-internet-regulation-11553999323">the WSJ.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>'At the weekend Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg surprised the world by&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47762091">calling for more regulation, suggesting that the US should adopt Europe's data protection rules </a>UK said to Zuckerberg: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47778093">Show us you're sincere about regulation. Rory Cellan Jones from the BBC reported '</a>UK' data regulator <a href="https://twitter.com/ICOnews">@<strong>iconews</strong></a> says Zuckerberg should "review" appeal against £0.5m fine to show Facebook is sincere about regulation.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":339} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/Screenshot-2019-04-04-at-14.19.29.png" alt="" class="wp-image-339" /></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The issue with Facebook is only showing why these Tech businesses built on the 'Free' business model are no more sustainable. 'Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has accused technology giants of competing unfairly' Reports <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/apr/02/big-tech-monopoly-power-elizabeth-warren-technology?fbclid=IwAR0fMDeJt4unlWn5K45TiVmXk9gmPVz5P-YCVHBx6Ip-t4PGWfkwBWiuT4A">The Guardian.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>As Johnny Ryan wrote on Twitter, '<em>If Zuckerberg wanted a global GDPR, he would have kept Facebook’s non-EU users under European regulation.'</em> Surely he could '<em>reverse the decision to move non-EU users from Ireland to US processing centers on the eve of the GDPR enforcement.</em>' as Tim Walters said.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Tim Turner, Data Protection trainer &amp; consultant commented <em>"Unpopular opinion: the ICO wants Facebook to drop their appeal because they’re worried that if it goes ahead, Facebook will win. ICO’s case is based on a flawed hypothetical argument, having changed substantially halfway though. Appeals are good. They allow a fresh set of eyes on the case and the ICO’s handling of it. Denham’s impatience with controllers’ right to appeal (expressed publicly more than once) suggests that she doesn’t respect the system she is part of. If her case against Facebook is solid, she should relish the chance to prove it. If it isn’t, the appeal is all the more necessary."</em></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In February this year 'Germany's antitrust watchdog ruled on Thursday that Facebook abused its market dominance in collecting, merging and using user data.' <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/07/german-antitrust-watchdog-cracks-down-on-facebook.html">reports CNBC</a>.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In the US <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/19/18272605/facebook-ftc-investigation-congress-republican-david-cicilline">Democratic leader calls on FTC to investigate Facebook’s market power.&nbsp;</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Facebook 'has paid teenagers&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/" target="_blank">to spy on their behavior</a>, even asking users “to screenshot their Amazon order history page,” according to the website TechCrunch. The company has&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/you-give-apps-sensitive-personal-information-then-they-tell-facebook-11550851636" target="_blank">secretly collected</a>&nbsp;highly sensitive data through the back doors of other apps, such as ovulation trackers, to target ads at users “even if no Facebook account is used to log in and if the end user isn’t a Facebook member,” The Wall Street Journal reported.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>And in its pursuit of dominance,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/03/technology/facebook-device-partners-users-friends-data.html?module=inline">Facebook gave at least 60 device makers</a>&nbsp;direct access to its users’ data. Those actions are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/technology/facebook-data-deals-investigation.html?module=inline">under criminal investigation</a>, The Times reported last week. Facebook has also engaged in campaigns to obstruct congressional oversight and to smear and discredit critics — tactics reminiscent of the big tobacco playbook.' <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/19/opinion/facebook-antitrust-investigation.html">Reports the New York Times.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Several <a href="http://www.pearltrees.com/privacyday/class-actions/id23426779">class actions</a> against Facebook are pending. Will <a href="http://www.pearltrees.com/privacyday/facebook/id23766375">Facebook</a> survive?</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->