Latest in privacy

Facebook reported fourth-quarter revenue of $21.08 billion, up 25% from the year earlier and above Wall Street expectations of $20.8 billion. Advertising revenue, the bulk of it, also surged 25% also to $20.7 billion Earnings per share rose to $2.58 from $2.36. Shares were down more than 7% in after hours trading as…

Facebook, which has faced intensifying government scrutiny after revelations of its misappropriation of user data, has agreed to a record $5 billion fine and new restrictions. In a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission made public on Wednesday (hours before the company was slated to report its quarterly…

Apple CEO Tim Cook said during his keynote address to Stanford’s graduating class on Saturday that the technology industry, despite good intentions, has failed to take responsibility for issues arising on privacy and hate speech, creating “chaos” by its inaction. “Too many seem to think good intentions excuse away…

Apple is using an old-fashioned way to capture hearts and minds – it’s put up a large billboard near the Consumer Electronics Show convention center to emphasize its privacy features. Tech giant Apple isn’t attending the show, but has placed the ad on the side of a SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel. The facility…

UPDATED throughout with more details about the security breach Facebook suffered an attack on its computer network that exposed information about 50 million users. Hackers took advantage of three separate vulnerabilities in Facebook’s software to steal tokens that allowed them to take over users’ accounts and harvest…

Facebook confirmed it has suspended a Boston-based social media analytics firm while it investigates how it collects and shares public data. Crimson Hexagon touts itself as one of the world’s leading providers of insights, drawn from public online data. The firm analyzes public Facebook data for clients, which include…

In a move that will have broad ramifications for any company that does business in the US, the California legislature has passed the nation’s strongest data privacy law. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which takes full effect in 2020, will limit how big companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook, among…

UPDATED with added analysis Apple, which has used its commitment to consumer privacy to distance itself from its Silicon Valley rivals, doubled down on privacy and security with the latest version of its Mac desktop operating system, dubbed “Mojave.” Apple Senior Vice President Craig Federighi said new data…

Companies that market themselves through email – practically every company in the world, that is – are scrambling to become compliant with a new European law that could cause major legal actions. The General Data Protection Regulation (known by the acronym GDPR) is a new European law that takes effect on Friday, May…

Mark Zuckerberg confronted a series of tough, pointed questions from members of the European Parliament today, as the Facebook chief executive was asked to provide answers about the social media platform’s data collection practices. The Silicon Valley executive once again apologized for not doing enough to protect…

UPDATED with response from Amazon: When children talk to an Amazon Echo Dot for kids, who, exactly, is listening? Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) posed that question in a letter sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asking how the online retail giant protects the privacy of children who use the smart…

Actress and activist Susan Sarandon has joined the growing list of celebrities and public figures abandoning Facebook in the wake of its privacy scandal. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Congress this week that there has been no “dramatic fall-off” of users after the Cambridge Analytica revelations. But there certainly have…