Facebook’s data deals are now under criminal investigation
The probe will focus on partnerships Facebook established with more than 150 companies to give them special access to users’ data, according to the New York Times.
What happened: A New York grand jury has ordered two companies that had partnerships with Facebook to hand over records. Much is unclear at this stage: the names of the companies, when proceedings began, or what exactly the focus will be. But given the subpoenas, prosecutors seem to be looking at special arrangements Facebook made with companies to give them access to users’ data (sometimes without consent), despite platform changes in 2014 that restricted the practice. This data included people’s friends and their contact information.
A lawsuit pile-up: It’s yet another launch of legal proceedings against Facebook, which is currently facing probes by the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The US Justice Department’s fraud unit is also investigating the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
A bad day: In separate news, Facebook also experienced its biggest outage since 2008 yesterday, intermittently knocking its website, app, Instagram, and WhatsApp offline for hours. The company is yet to explain why, apart from saying it is not the result of a cyberattack.
Sign up here to our daily newsletter The Download to get your dose of the latest must-read news from the world of emerging tech.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.
Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.
Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch
Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.
How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets
When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.