Cambridge Analytica shuts down: How Facebook weathered the data theft storm

British marketing analytics firm Cambridge Analytica on Wednesday announced that it, along with its parent firm SCL Elections Ltd, was shutting shop and would file for insolvency in Britain and the US. The firm’s business took a hit after it emerged that the company had improperly obtained data of 87 million Facebook users on behalf of political clients, including, allegedly, the present US President Donald Trump.

Even as the data scandal led to the closure of Cambridge Analytica, Facebook has managed to duck the heat, thanks to its smart damage-control moves. Last week, the company posted better than expected first-quarter earnings, with a 49 per cent jump in revenue.

From Apology to launching new privacy tools, here’s how Facebook weathered the data theft storm:

Mark Zuckerberg‘s apology: “We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake,” Zuckerberg said in written remark ahead of congressional hearings.

In the hearings too, the CEO took full responsibilty for failing to prevent Cambridge Analytica from gathering personal information from 87 million users to try to influence elections.

Zuckerberg fielded 10 hours of questions over two days from nearly 100 US lawmakers and emerged largely unscathed.

Instagram will soon let users download all their images and videos

Popular image and video sharing platform Instagram announced that the users will soon be able to download a copy of their content posted.

The announcement comes amid the ongoing data privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytica and social media platform, Facebook.

As per an Instagram spokesperson, the company is working on a data portability tool for users to download a copy of the photos, videos and messages shared on the platform, reports TechCrunch.

However, it remains unclear whether the company would go beyond allowing users to download the above-mentioned data, such as following and follower lists, likes, comments, Stories, and captions shared with posts.

In March, Facebook, as part of its privacy updates, announced that users can access data shared with the platform by downloading a secure copy and moving it to another service. Data can include photos, contacts, timeline posts, and more.

Why Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is winning the US Senate hearings

Mark Zuckerberg did just fine in his first turn in the Congressional hot seat. He was confident. He capably tackled many of the queries proposed last week by Bloomberg columnists. The 33-year-old billionaire appeared humble throughout much of the hearing, with only a few smug smiles.

The best news for Facebook Inc. the company was that Zuckerberg ably deflected any challenges to the beating heart of its economic model: its hungry data collection and the fine-tuned targeted advertising based on that data. Zuckerberg’s success is a win for anyone primarily concerned with the company’s market value. But it’s a loss for the rest of us.

Facebook will keep failing users’ trust as long as its business is based on unrestrained hoovering of as much user data as possible, and crafting ever-more innovative ways for advertisers to harness that information for commercial goals. It’s an arrangement to which Facebook’s users agree and can sidestep, technically, but it is hardly informed consent or a real option to avoid.

Facebook-Cambridge Analytica row: Zuckerberg brings apology ads; updates

Facebook‘s problems after the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke out refuse to fade. Now, the social media giant’s founder and chief ececutive officer Mark Zuckerberg has issued a full-page advertisement in seven newspapers across the United Kingdom and three across the United States apologising for the data breach. “We have a responsibility to protect your information. If we can’t, we don’t deserve it,” he said. Meanwhile, the social media giant also dismissed claims of having collected users’ text and call data without their consent.

Amid the ongoing privacy scandal surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, Zuckerberg, in the advertisement, reiterated that the social media platform had already stopped third-party apps from “getting so much information” and that Facebook had started “limiting the data apps get when you sign up”, The Verge reported. Zuckerberg also clarified that Facebook users would now be aware of which apps had access to their information and which did not, so that they could make an informed decision.

The Facebook ads ran in prominent positions in British nationals, including the best-selling Mail on Sunday, The Sunday Times, and The Observer — which helped break the story — as well as the US’ New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. The advertisement reflected the public statements Zuckerberg made last week after the Cambridge Analytica data breach row prompted investigations in Europe and the US, and sent Facebook’s share price plunging.

Modi, not Rahul Gandhi hired Cambridge Analytica to woo voters: Congress

The BJP on Wednesday questioned links between the Congress and Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm accused of harvesting personal information from Facebook illegally to influence polls in several countries, and wondered if it will now depend on “data theft” to woo voters. Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad cited media reports about the opposition party’s plan to use the firm’s services for the next Lok Sabha elections and to boost its president Rahul Gandhi’s profile. He asked Gandhi to explain the company’s role in his social media outreach. The firm, the Union minister said, has been accused of using “sex, sleaze and fake news” to influence elections and asked if the Congress too plans to walk the same path.

“The Congress must explain if it has engaged in data trade with Cambridge Analytica,” he said, questioning the opposition party’s “silence” despite numerous reports of its link with the company.

Prasad, the law and IT minister, used the occasion to warn Facebook of stringent legal action against any misuse of data of more than 200 million Indians on its platform. Targeting the Congress, he said the number of Gandhi’s Twitter followers had shot up recently and wondered if it was due to the services of the firm that he achieved this “fake popularity”.

BJP questions Congress’ links with Cambridge Analytica for 2019 LS polls

The BJP on Wednesday questioned links between the Congress and Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm accused of harvesting personal information from Facebook illegally to influence polls in several countries, and wondered if it will now depend on “data theft” to woo voters.

Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad cited media reports about the opposition party’s plan to use the firm’s services for the next Lok Sabha elections and to boost its president Rahul Gandhi’s profile. He asked Gandhi to explain the company’s role in his social media outreach.

The firm, the Union minister said, has been accused of using “sex, sleaze and fake news” to influence elections and asked if the Congress too plans to walk the same path.

“The Congress must explain if it has engaged in data trade with Cambridge Analytica,” he said, questioning the opposition party’s “silence” despite numerous reports of its link with the company.

Prasad, the law and IT minister, used the occasion to warn Facebook of stringent legal action against any misuse of data of more than 200 million Indians on its platform.