Facebook could face billion dollar fine for data breaches

according to New York (CNN Business) Facebook could be facing a multi-billion dollar fine after a European regulator announced Friday that it is launching an investigation into the company over failure to protect user privacy. The Irish Data Protection Commission, which oversees Facebook's compliance with European law confirmed to CNN on Friday it launched a "statutory inquiry" into Facebook after receiving multiple reports of data breaches affecting the company. News of the inquiry came just as Facebook announced that it had exposed photos from up to 6.8 million users. The inquiry is the result of new powers given to the Irish data regulator as a result of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a European regulation that came into effect in May. Because Facebook's European headquarters is in Dublin, it must under GDPR inform the Irish data regulator within 72 hours of discovering a breach.

Why we can't stop debating whether Facebook sells data

"You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but we don't sell people's data. Still, Goldman draws a meaningful distinction here, insofar as there are giant corporations that really do sell your data. When Facebook says it doesn't sell your data, it often implies that to do so would be a terrible breach of trust. We know we want something other than the current data privacy regime, but we still can't quite name it. How I Quit Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and AmazonDangerous radical Daniel Oberhaus spends a month without using products from Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon.

Facebook data could end up in China's hands

as mentioned in Until now, public attention has focused on how undemocratic actors use various social media platforms to undermine democracy or security. To be sure, it would be a mistake to downplay how intrusive the mere use of social media platforms can be. As one recent study shows, advertisers can use Facebook data to target outreach based on psychological traits, such as extroversion, and significantly shift behavior. In 2014, Cambridge Analytica, a UK-based firm that advised the Trump campaign, acquired Facebook data for tens of millions of users. A world in which China can acquire and exploit Facebook data — perhaps by putting pressure on partner tech companies with large Chinese presences — is just around the corner.

Facebook collects user data from apps like Tinder, OKCupid and others

Facebook's SDK allows developers to access Facebook Analytics and let their users log in with their Facebook credentials, and Facebook says in its policies that it can collect information through third-party apps that use its SDKs and APIs. Mobilsicher says that as long as you've logged into Facebook on your mobile device at least once -- whether that be via a browser or through the Facebook app -- Facebook can link your Advertising ID to your profile. The findings follow a recent New York Times report that detailed how extensively Facebook shared user data with companies like Apple, Netflix and Spotify, and it's sure to add to the privacy concerns that Facebook has repeatedly stoked over the past year. Facebook's many 2018 privacy infractions include the Cambridge Analytica scandal, a security bug that affected millions of users and a Photo API bug that gave third-party apps access to Facebook users' unposted photos. While maybe not as egregious as some of Facebook's other issues, Mobilsicher's findings highlight, yet again, just how little control users have over their information and what Facebook does with it.

collected by :Roy Mark