Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook said Wednesday personal data on as many as 87 million users was improperly shared with British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. The new figure eclipses a previous estimate of 50 million in a further embarrassment to the social network roiled by a privacy scandal. The …
Read More »Fraud rap for cryptocurrency promoted by DJ Khaled, Mayweather
New York, United States | AFP | The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday laid charges over a fraudulent cryptocurrency fundraiser that boxer Floyd Mayweather and rapper DJ Khaled touted on social media. Neither celebrity is accused in the scheme which the SEC said raised more than $32 million from …
Read More »Facebook gets thumbs down for handling of data scandal
Paris, France | AFP | When it comes to its handling of the scandal over how its users’ data was harvested to help elect US President Donald Trump, Facebook gets an almighty thumbs down from crisis management experts. Public relations specialists questioned by AFP were damning in their verdict of …
Read More »Facebook overhauls privacy settings amid data breach outcry
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook on Wednesday launched a fresh effort to quell the firestorm over the hijacking of personal data, unveiling new privacy tools and settings aiming to give users more control over how their information is shared. The new features follow fierce criticism of the social network …
Read More »Man arrested after Morocco sexual assault video
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Morocco announced Wednesday the arrest of a man allegedly seen in an online video sexually assaulting a girl in broad daylight, a scene that sent shock waves across the country. The interior ministry said the unnamed 21-year-old was arrested for attempted rape of the girl …
Read More »Indian billionaire proposes funding Facebook rival
New Delhi, India | AFP | An Indian billionaire who promised to help fund a rival to Facebook said Wednesday he had been “overwhelmed” with the response as the world grapples with concerns about data privacy. Anand Mahindra, whose Mahindra Group business empire spans everything from cars to real estate, …
Read More »Police investigate as sexual assault video shocks Morocco
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Moroccan police on Tuesday announced an investigation into a video showing a teenage girl being pinned down, stripped and assaulted in broad daylight after it stirred a wave of anger. In the footage circulated online an assailant kneels on top of the teen touching and …
Read More »EU gives Facebook ‘two weeks’ to answer data scandal questions: letter
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The European Union has given Facebook two weeks to answer questions raised by the scandal over personal data harvested from the social network, according to extracts of a letter obtained by AFP on Tuesday. The letter EU’s justice commissioner Vera Jourova sent Facebook’s chief operating officer …
Read More »Facebook as an election weapon, from Obama to Trump
New York, United States | AFP | The use of Facebook data to target voters has triggered global outrage with the Cambridge Analytica scandal. But the concept is nothing new: Barack Obama made extensive use of the social network in 2008 and stepped up “micro-targeting” in his 2012 re-election effort. …
Read More »Zuckerberg’s shine dims as guardian of Facebook users
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Mark Zuckerberg rose to wealth and fame with a mission of connecting everyone through Facebook, but now faces the wrath of users outraged he isn’t doing more to defend their data. The latest crisis laying siege to the leading online social network has …
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