Offices of attorneys general in Connecticut, North Carolina and Illinois confirmed involvement Friday in a multistate investigation of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica privacy breach. Connecticut AG William Tong (D), North Carolina AG Josh Stein and Illinois AG Kwame Raoul (D) are helping lead the probe, their offices said. Bloomberg reported Pennsylvania also is involved. The office for AG Josh Shapiro (D) didn’t comment. AGs in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., previously announced investigations. Facebook has had “productive conversations” with AGs from various states, a spokesperson emailed: “Many officials have approached us in a constructive manner, focused on solutions that ensure all companies are protecting people’s information, and we look forward to continuing to work with them.”
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
Verizon would “very much like to see federal privacy legislation passed in 2019,” said Vice President-Public Policy Melissa Tye Thursday at an FCBA event. Director-Regulatory Affairs Rachel Sanford Nemeth also pledged CTA’s support for federal legislation to avoid a patchwork of state regulations.
Federal IT systems were at higher risk of cyber breach during the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, House lawmakers told us. Senate Democrats prodded federal agencies for answers Tuesday on what might have been compromised. Experts told us agencies such as the FCC and the FTC likely fell behind on security patch schedules. Risk of security breaches such as phishing scams also likely was heightened for the short-staffed agencies, they said.
Facebook should immediately end its teen research program, said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Wednesday, responding to a report alleging it paid teens to install a VPN that spies on them. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai retweeted Markey's concerns. It’s “manipulative to offer teens money in exchange for their personal information when younger users don’t have a clear understanding how much data they’re handing over and how sensitive it is,” Markey said. He will reintroduce the Do Not Track Kids Act, an update to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also criticized the platform, in a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Warner said he’s working on privacy legislation (see 1901220030) “to require individualized, informed consent" for "behavioral and market research conducted by large platforms on users.” Adults barely understand what is happening to their data and personal information -- how can we expect more from our children?” said Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif. He noted participants, ages 13-35, were paid $20 monthly plus referral fees. Key facts “are being ignored,” a Facebook spokesperson emailed. Participants, 5 percent of whom were teens, gave permission for the activity with parental consent when necessary, it said, and all were paid.
Internal consolidation doesn’t trigger antitrust concerns, DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim said Tuesday at the State of the Net conference. He was asked about Facebook’s plan to integrate messaging services for Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram (see 1901250046). However, if the consolidation allows anticompetitive behavior, that’s worth attention, he said. The division is “working as fast” as it can on reviewing T-Mobile's proposed buy of Sprint, Delrahim also said (see 1901290040).
Facebook's plan to integrate messaging services WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger raises privacy concerns, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said Friday. “We need more than mere assurances from the company that this move will not come at the expense of users’ data privacy and security,” Markey responded to reports. Emailed a Facebook spokesperson: "We're working on making more of our messaging products end-to-end encrypted and considering ways to make it easier to reach friends and family across networks ... There is a lot of discussion and debate as we begin the long process of figuring out all the details of how this will work.” The FTC should fine Facebook more than $2 billion for violations in the Cambridge Analytica breach, groups wrote Chairman Joe Simons Thursday. Electronic Privacy Information Center, Color of Change, Government Accountability Project and Open Market Institute alleged FTC Act violations. Such infractions can result in a $41,000 fine per offense, the groups wrote, and Facebook said as many as 70 million Americans were affected. “Even generously assuming that each affected person was subject to only one violation of the order, a thousand dollar fine per violation would necessitate a $70 billion fine. Our point is not to argue for a fine of this scale, but to underscore the authority the FTC possesses to impose consequential fines,” they wrote. The agency should also require Facebook to “unwind” its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, the groups said, citing failures to protect WhatsApp user data. The commission didn’t comment. Facebook declined comment on the investigation.
Despite doomsday scenarios about artificial intelligence, useful data doesn’t exist to determine if the technology would harm U.S. jobs, GAO Chief Scientist Tim Persons told us Friday. “We’re worried about it taking over the world and still can’t answer some basic questions about it,” Persons said after speaking at a Software & Information Industry Association event.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., met Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and former FTC members Wednesday about online privacy, the lawmakers told us Thursday. “My goal is to listen and see what we can do to make sure companies have skin in the game,” Scott told us. The ex-FTC officials talked about preventing future privacy breaches, he said.
Expect Senate and House Commerce Committee hearings on wireless carrier location tracking practices that stirred national security concerns, lawmakers told us. Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., wants briefings from carriers on recent reports companies sold customer location tracking data allegedly accessed by bounty hunters (see 1901110042). “I want to hear personally not only from folks on the communications side but also continue hearing if there are any national security implications,” Warner told us.
Copyright-focused lawmakers are looking to build on the Music Modernization Act’s 2018 success with new projects this term, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told us. Jeffries said he’s in discussions with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and ranking member Doug Collins, R-Ga., all original MMA co-sponsors.