Mark Zuckerberg speaks, but is it too late to say sorry?
Today's Technology Intelligence newsletter comes as Mark Zuckerberg finally responds to the Cambridge Analytica scandal A sample of the email is below. If you like what you see, sign up here.
Zuckerberg breaks his silence
Finally, after five days and a statement that initially failed to mention the word, Mark Zuckerberg said sorry for the Cambridge Analytica data storm that has hit Facebook.
"This was a major breach of trust and I'm really sorry that this happened" the Facebook founder told CNN. "We have a basic responsibility to protect people’s data and if we can’t do that then we don’t deserve to have the opportunity to serve people."
'Lost control'
Yesterday, MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee questioned former Facebook platform manager-turned-whistleblower Sandy Parakilas about the freedom that third-party Facebook apps had to handle data. Parakilas said profile information “was not really controlled” and that it could have been sold on without the company’s knowledge.
MPs said the hearing was worrying and suggested the data scandal goes much much further than Cambridge Analytica. Last night Zuckerberg announced plans to get on top of this: apps that had historical data access will be reviewed and users will be alerted when data was accessed.
Can Facebook regain trust?
In a Facebook post last night, Zuckerberg promised that the company would do a thorough investigation into third party apps that had had access to the same type of Facebook friend data that Cambridge Analytica ended up receiving.
He has followed that up with interviews with CNN, the New York Times, Recode and Wired. The key takeaways: He is willing to testify in front of US politicians, the investigation will cost millions of dollars, and he is not necessarily against Facebook being regulated.
After days of silence, Zuckerberg stepped up yesterday, perhaps as a response to claims he had gone missing. The question is whether it is too late: there are growing signs that we are now questioning the data we hand over to internet giants, and that a new paradigm is needed.
