Facebook is facing scathing criticism following an exposé that data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica mined a whopping 50 million profiles from the social networking site to plan campaigns for 2016 US elections and Brexit referendum. The data leaks scandal has forced Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to concede that the right steps were not taken and that they needed to ensure this does not recur.The scandal’s ripple effect is also showing up in India, where mainstream political parties, the BJP and the Congress, are trading charges with each other for using the services of Cambridge Analytica to influence elections. At the same time, the Indian government has warned Facebook against any attempts to interfere in the country’s electoral process. Here’s a look at top 10 developments in the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data leaks.
Cambridge Analytica and India connection
In India, BJP and Congress are accusing each other of having a connection with data firm Cambridge Analytica and its parent firm Strategic Communications Laboratories (SCL). “Why is the Congress in love with such firms? My question to the party is whether to win elections, Congress will depend on data manipulation and theft of data? What is the role of Cambridge Analytica in the social media profile of Rahul Gandhi,” asked Ravi Shankar Prasad.
He added whether Congress would “depend on data manipulation and its theft to win elections.” He alleged that the controversial firm was in talks with the Congress party for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Mark Zuckerberg’s apology on the Facebook Cambridge Analytica leaks
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote a post on his personal page saying, “We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you. I’ve been working to understand exactly what happened and how to make sure this doesn’t happen again. The good news is that the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago.” The Facebook CEO admitted the company had made mistakes and that they needed to do more to check them.
Zuckerberg wrote the whole incident “was also a breach of trust between Facebook and the people who share their data with us and expect us to protect it. We need to fix that.” Zuckerberg also told CNN that he was ready to testify before the US Congress if needed.
Indian government’s response to the Facebook data leaks
Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Information and Technology, said any attempts by Facebook to influence India’s electoral process through undesirable means will not be tolerated. “If need be, strong action will be taken. Let me make it very, very clear, we fully support freedom of press, speech and expression, we fully support free exchange of ideas on social media.
But any attempt, covert or overt, by social media, including Facebook, of trying to influence India’s electoral process through undesirable means will neither be appreciated nor be tolerated,” Prasad said.
What will Facebook do next for data protection
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says they will investigate all apps that had access to large amounts of information before the company changed its policies in 2014. Facebook will conduct a full audit of any app with suspicious activity and if something is found amiss, the developers concerned will be banned from the network.Facebook will also look if other developers have misused personally identifiable information, and if true, the social network will ban them. Facebook will also remove a developers’ access to user data if someone has not used their app in last three months.
Christopher Wylie, a whistleblower who worked with the Cambridge University academic, has revealed key details on this whole system worked