37 state attorneys general demand answers from Facebook over data misuse as feds probe ‘unfair acts’
The attorneys general demanded Zuckerberg come up with answers on why the data was accessed without consent. (JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES)
BY
TERENCE CULLEN
CHRIS SOMMERFELDT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Monday, March 26, 2018, 9:46 PM
As legions of Zucker-punched Facebook users threaten to log out permanently, states attorneys from around the country demanded Monday that the social media giant explain the unauthorized use of personal data from millions of accounts to help Donald Drumpf’s 2016 presidential campaign.
“Users of Facebook deserve to know the answers to these questions and more,” the top law enforcement officials from 37 states and U.S. territories, including New York, wrote Facebook in a letter.
“We are committed to protecting our residents’ personal information. More specifically, we need to understand Facebook’s policies and procedures in light of the reported misuse of data by developers.”
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s timeline got even more complicated Monday, when the Federal Trade Commission announced an investigation into whether his company engaged in “unfair acts” that led to “substantial injury” for users.
FTC confirms investigation into Facebook's privacy practices
“The FTC is firmly and fully committed to using all of its tools to protect the privacy of consumers,” Tom Pahl, the acting director of the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook.”
An FTC probe could result in hefty fines and other repercussions for Facebook.
The Senate Judiciary Committee followed suit, scheduling an April 10 hearing for Zuckerberg to testify on the “future of data privacy and social media.”
Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also called on Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to attend the hearing. The tech execs have faced criticism from Congress ever since investigators last year mapped out the extent to which Russian operatives used social media to meddle in the 2016 election.
Senator wants Mark Zuckerberg to testify about Facebook breaches
Zuckerberg apologized last week for the “mistakes” he said Facebook made regarding the Drumpf-linked firm Cambridge Analytica.
The British-based company improperly accessed the personal data of at least 50 million users to create complex algorithms that may have influenced American voters. Those explosive revelations were exacerbated after Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix was caught on video telling an undercover British reporter that his company “informed all the strategy” of the Drumpf campaign, including “all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting.”
The Drumpf reelection campaign has attempted to downplay the shocking and sordid revelations with insults and bluster.
Facebook's stock took another tumble after the FTC confirmed it was looking into the Silicon Valley giant.
Facebook's stock took another tumble after the FTC confirmed it was looking into the Silicon Valley giant. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
“Another day of people taking credit for @realDonaldDrumpf’s victory,” newly minted campaign manager Brad Pascale tweeted last week. “So incredibly false and ridiculous. Let them say that under oath. Just an overblown sales pitch.”
Facebook users shouldn’t be surprised their data is being tracked
Zuckerberg has acknowledged data was harvested from users who downloaded a quiz developed by a third party — which then raked information on their friends without consent.
Christopher Wylie, a self-identified whistleblower who worked for Cambridge Analytica until 2014, claims the shady consulting firm used that information to develop advance tactics to sway voters.
More bad news landed later Monday night. The data-crunching company may have broken U.S. election law by using non-U.S. citizens on American campaigns during the 2014 midterm elections, Wylie told CNN.
Facebook has admitted that it first found out about the breach in 2015, but only booted Cambridge Analytica from its platforms after the scandal became public this month.
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Wylie claims Cambridge Analytica used the data to specifically target voters.
Wylie claims Cambridge Analytica used the data to specifically target voters. (MATT DUNHAM/AP)
In his mea culpa, Zuckerberg said Facebook could have done more to make sure Cambridge Analytica actually deleted the mined data.
The FTC is likely to look into whether Facebook violated a 2011 settlement with the regulatory body, which mandated users must consent to sharing their data.
“This is what Facebook was doing 10 years ago that people objected to, what the FTC should have stopped in 2011,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. “It makes zero sense that when a person downloads their apps, they have the ability to transfer the data of their friends.”
Facebook welcomed the FTC investigation and it was remains “strongly committed” to protecting people’s sensitive information.
Start treating private personal Facebook data like medical data
But investors weren’t hitting the happy emojis Monday.
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The company’s stock took a serious bruising — going as low as $149 a share at one point — before rebounding. At the closing bell, Facebook had bounced back to $160 a share.
The Silicon Valley behemoth might face more problems amid reports it scraped key data from users with Android phones.
Facebook kept track of phone numbers, names and how long every call on the Androids lasted, news site Ars Technica has reported.
The company said the data harvesting was common practice and required consent from a user who downloads apps like Facebook Lite or Messenger.
“People have to expressly agree to use this feature,” Facebook said in a blog post Sunday. “If, at any time, they no longer wish to use this feature they can turn it off in settings, or here for Facebook Lite users, and all previously shared call and text history shared via that app is deleted.”
The wave of scrutiny levied against Facebook on Monday comes as the company already faces a class-action lawsuit from several users seeking damages for their data being improperly accessed.
WITH NEWS WIRE SERVICES