Lawsuit adds to Facebook woes on data protection

The social network has admitted that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by Cambridge Analytica, (File/AFP)
Updated 20 December 2018
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Lawsuit adds to Facebook woes on data protection

  • The suit filed by the attorney general for the US capital Washington is likely the first by an official US body that could impose consequences on Faceboook
  • Facebook said it was reviewing the complaint and looked forward to continuing discussions with attorneys general in DC “and elsewhere.”

WASHINGTON: Facebook’s woes mounted Wednesday as it faced a lawsuit alleging privacy violations related to data leaked to a consultancy working on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, and as a new report suggested it shared more data with partners than it has acknowledged.
Facebook shares already sagging under the weight of the social network’s troubles ended the trading day down 7.25 percent to $133.24 and slipped even lower in after-market trades.
The suit filed by the attorney general for the US capital Washington is likely the first by an official US body that could impose consequences on the world’s leading social network for data misuse.
“Facebook failed to protect the privacy of its users and deceived them about who had access to their data and how it was used,” said Attorney General Karl Racine in a statement.
“Facebook put users at risk of manipulation by allowing companies like Cambridge Analytica and other third-party applications to collect personal data without users’ permission.”
The suit filed in Superior Court in Washington seeks an injunction to make sure Facebook puts in place safeguards to monitor users’ data and makes it easier for users to control privacy settings, and demands restitution for consumers.
Facebook said it was reviewing the complaint and looked forward to continuing discussions with attorneys general in DC “and elsewhere.”
The social network has admitted that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by Cambridge Analytica, which shut down weeks after the news emerged on its handling of private user information.
A whistleblower at the consultancy, which worked on Trump’s presidential campaign, said it used Facebook data to develop profiles of users who were targeted with personalized messages that could have played on their fears.
The scandal has triggered a series of investigations and broad review by Facebook on how it shares user data with third parties.
The New York Times reported that some 150 companies — including powerful partners like Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify — could access detailed information about Facebook users, including data about their friends.
According to documents seen by the Times, Facebook allowed Microsoft’s Bing search engine to see names of Facebook users’ friends without consent and gave Netflix and Spotify the ability to read private messages.
The report said Amazon was able to obtain user names and contact information through their friends, and Yahoo could view streams of friends’ posts.
While some of the deals date back as far as 2010, the Times said they remained active as late as 2017 — and some were still in effect this year.
Facebook late Wednesday pushed back against critics, saying it had carefully negotiated deals with select partners to explore features such as friends sharing what they were listening to on Spotify or watching on Netflix.
“In the past day, we’ve been accused of disclosing people’s private messages to partners without their knowledge,” Facebook vice president of product partnerships Ime Archibong said in a blog post.
“That’s not true.”
To exchange messages or complete tasks such as sharing files or sending money, apps being used require the relevant technical access.
“Why did the messaging partners have read/write/delete messaging access?” Archibong asked rhetorically.
“That was the point of this feature.”
The experiences at issue were publicly discussed, and only available when people used Facebook to log into services, according to the social network.
“No third party was reading your private messages, or writing messages to your friends without your permission,” Archibong said.
Facebook’s head of developer platforms and programs, Konstantinos Papamiltiadis noted most of the features are now gone.
Netflix said that the feature was used to make the streaming service “more social” by allowing users to make recommendations to friends, but that it stopped using it in 2015.
“At no time did we access people’s private messages on Facebook or ask for the ability to do so,” Netflix said in a statement.
Spotify offered a similar response, indicating the music service “cannot read users’ private Facebook inbox messages across any of our current integrations.”
The Canadian bank RBC, also cited in The New York Times, said the deal with Facebook “was limited to the development of a service that enabled clients to facilitate payment transactions to their Facebook friends,” and that it was discontinued in 2015.
Democratic Senator Brian Schatz said the latest revelations highlight a need for tougher controls on how tech companies handle user data.
“It has never been more clear,” Schatz tweeted. “We need a federal privacy law. They are never going to volunteer to do the right thing.”


US NGO believes missing journalist Austin Tice ‘alive’ in Syria

Updated 59 min 28 sec ago
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US NGO believes missing journalist Austin Tice ‘alive’ in Syria

DAMASCUS: US group Hostage Aid Worldwide said Tuesday that it believes journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, is still alive, though it did not offer concrete information on his whereabouts.
“We have data that Austin is alive till January 2024, but the president of the US said in August that he is alive, and we are sure that he is alive today,” Hostage Aid Worldwide’s Nizar Zakka said.


MIT Technology Review Arabia unveils 2024 ‘Innovators Under 35 MENA’ award winners

Updated 23 December 2024
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MIT Technology Review Arabia unveils 2024 ‘Innovators Under 35 MENA’ award winners

  • Saudi Arabia saw significant recognition this year, with five of its innovators earning awards
  • Innovators’ work range from groundbreaking genetic research to eco-friendly technologies and advanced health diagnostics

LONDON: MIT Technology Review Arabia has announced the 20 winners of its 2024 Innovators Under 35 MENA award, honoring young visionaries whose work spans fields such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, energy and medicine.

This year’s honorees hail from across the region and beyond, including Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Bangladesh and Russia, and whose ideas have introduced innovations addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Their achievements range from groundbreaking genetic research to eco-friendly technologies and advanced health diagnostics.

Among this year’s winners is Saudi Arabia’s Asrar Damdam, whose UV-based device extends the shelf life of fresh food in only 30 seconds without chemicals, tackling global food waste.

Egypt’s Bassem Al-Shaib was recognized for his work with CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology, offering new possibilities for genetic therapies and climate change mitigation.

Qatar’s Dhabia Al-Mohannadi has developed a process to convert oil wastewater into hydrogen, contributing to decarbonization efforts.

Saudi Arabia saw significant recognition this year, with five of its innovators earning awards.

These include Mohammed Alamer, whose sustainable graphene production methods are gaining attention, and Lamyaa Almemadi, whose research at MIT focuses on monitoring mRNA degradation in vaccines.

Taghreed Sindi was recognized for developing AI tools to improve children’s hospital care, while Maha AlJuhani introduced methods for designing catalysts that recycle nitrogen, supporting sustainability in industry.

The honorees were selected by a panel of 19 judges, including academics and entrepreneurs from leading institutions worldwide.

The award, which was launched in the MENA in 2018, is the regional version of a global awards scheme launched by MIT Technology Review in 1999.

Part of Arabic digital content provider Majarra, Innovators Under 35 awards have previously honored figures such as Google co-founder Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg, founder, chairman and CEO of Meta, formerly known as Facebook.


Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. to sell Foxtel to Britain’s DAZN for $2.1 billion

Updated 23 December 2024
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Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. to sell Foxtel to Britain’s DAZN for $2.1 billion

  • News Corp. will gain a board seat and hold a 6 percent stake in DAZN
  • DAZN is a broadcasting partner for Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s LaLiga, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1

SYDNEY: News Corp. has agreed to sell its Australian cable TV unit Foxtel to British-owned sports network DAZN for $2 billion (A$3.4 billion) including debt, cutting the Murdoch-controlled media empire’s exposure to a business up-ended by streaming platforms.
News Corp. will gain a board seat and hold a 6 percent stake in DAZN, a London-headquartered global streaming platform available in North America, Europe, and Asia and backed by Ukranian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik.
DAZN is a broadcasting partner for Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s LaLiga, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1. It competes against traditional TV and satellite channels and provides access to a range of sports content, including American football, boxing and baseball over its streaming platform.
“Australians watch more sport than any other country in the world, which makes this deal an incredibly exciting opportunity for DAZN to enter a key market, marking another step in our long-term strategy to become the global home of sport,” said DAZN co-founder and CEO Shay Segev.
Foxtel, launched by News Corp. in 1995, has weighed on the media giant’s profits for years as the number of people who pay monthly subscriptions for its broadcast content switched to cheaper streaming options like Netflix.
It has tried to diversify by adding its own streaming services like Kayo, which livestreams local sports Australian Football League (AFL) and the National Rugby League (NRL), to win back sports broadcasting market share. It also shows ESPN.
However, its earnings have suffered with the cost of sports broadcasting rights soaring just as subscriber revenue has shrunk. To help offset the costs, Foxtel often shares rights with free-to-air broadcasters.
“Foxtel’s traditional premium pricing model has long been a point of contention, particularly in an era dominated by more affordable streaming alternatives,” said Paul Budde, an independent telco analyst.
“DAZN’s entry into the Australian market, potentially offering competitive or lower rates, could dramatically shift consumer expectations and reshape the pricing landscape.”
The AFL’s current seven-year deal with Foxtel-Channel Seven, which runs until 2031, is worth A$4.5 billion, while Cricket Australia will get A$1.5 billion from the same partners over the same time period.
Tennis rights, including the Australian Open Grand Slam, have been locked up until 2029 by Nine Entertainment, which has its own streaming service, Stan.
Nine is also in exclusive talks with Rugby Australia for broadcast rights beyond next year as the country prepares to host the Rugby World Cup in 2027.
NEWS CORP FOCUSES ON PUBLISHING
The valuation on Foxtel represents seven times its 2024 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), News Corp. said in a statement.
As part of the deal, shareholder loans valued at A$578 million outstanding will be repaid in full and Foxtel’s current debt will be refinanced at closing.
News Corp. chief executive Robert Thomson said the deal would allow the company to focus on its core operations of Dow Jones, digital real estate and book publishing. News owns 61.4 percent of online real estate platform REA Group and is the parent company of publisher HarperCollins.
The deal is due to be finalized in the second half of 2025 and is subject to regulatory approval, News Corp. said. Given the overseas ownership of DAZN, the transaction will need to be cleared by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
Blavatnik is a dual US and British citizen and the founder of Access Industries which has an investment portfolio worth more than $35 billion, according to its website.
FIRB did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Australian telecom Telstra has also sold its 35 percent stake in Foxtel to DAZN and will receive A$128 million in cash and a 3 percent stake in DAZN.


Journalists arrested in Turkiye over Syria drone deaths demo

Updated 23 December 2024
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Journalists arrested in Turkiye over Syria drone deaths demo

  • Turkiye has up to 18,000 troops in Syria, according to a Turkish official, and has said it could launch a military operation if the Kurdish forces in northern Syria do not lay down their arms

ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities arrested nine people, including seven journalists, for taking part in banned demonstration in support of two Turkish-Kurdish journalists killed by a Turkish drone in northern Syria, media and rights groups said Sunday.
Nazim Dastan, 32, and Cihan Bilgin, 29, who worked for Kurdish media, were killed Thursday near the Tishrin dam, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Aleppo, when their car exploded, the Dicle Firat Turkish journalists’ association said.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the journalists were killed by a Turkish drone, as did Kurdish media in Turkiye and Syria.
The MLSA Turkish media rights group said 59 people had been detained for taking part in a protest Saturday banned by police. It said 50 people subsequently released.
“Seven journalists detained yesterday as they tried to make a statement in favor of the dead journalists Nazim Dastan and Cihan Bilgin” have been formally arrested for “terrorist propaganda,” MLSA said on the X social media platform.
Since the fall of Bashar Assad on December 8, Turkiye has supported an offensive by armed groups against Kurdish forces that control a zone in northern Syria.
Turkiye has up to 18,000 troops in Syria, according to a Turkish official, and has said it could launch a military operation if the Kurdish forces in northern Syria do not lay down their arms.
 

 


Albania bans TikTok for a year after killing of teenager

Updated 22 December 2024
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Albania bans TikTok for a year after killing of teenager

  • Prime Minister Edi Rama government’s decision comes after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow pupil

TIRANA: Albania on Saturday announced a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social media on children.
The ban, part of a broader plan to make schools safer, will come into effect early next year, Prime Minister Edi Rama said after meeting with parents’ groups and teachers from across the country.
“For one year, we’ll be completely shutting it down for everyone. There will be no TikTok in Albania,” Rama said.
Several European countries including France, Germany and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children. In one of the world’s toughest regulations targeting Big Tech, Australia approved in November a complete social media ban for children under 16.
Rama has blamed social media, and TikTok in particular, for fueling violence among youth in and outside school.
His government’s decision comes after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow pupil. Local media had reported that the incident followed arguments between the two boys on social media. Videos had also emerged on TikTok of minors supporting the killing.
“The problem today is not our children, the problem today is us, the problem today is our society, the problem today is TikTok and all the others that are taking our children hostage,” Rama said.
TikTok said it was seeking “urgent clarity” from the Albanian government.
“We found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and multiple reports have in fact confirmed videos leading up to this incident were being posted on another platform, not TikTok,” a company spokesperson said.