About: Cambridge Analytica
User data on the Internet: Manipulation as a business model
European election campaigns are well underway and online votes are also being sought. In such situations, the temptation to misuse data is great, as the Cambridge Analytica scandal in the US elections demonstrated. In the EU, parties have also long relied on advanced data analysis, but is this still legal? EURACTIV Germany talked to a communication expert.
‘Digital gangsters’: UK parliament slams Facebook on data protection, disinformation
A UK Parliamentary report has singled out Facebook for failing to effectively protect user data and stem the spread of disinformation across its platform, saying that the tech giant "is unwilling to be accountable to regulators around the world."
Cambridge Analytica parent firm hit with new UK penalty
The parent firm of Cambridge Analytica, SCL Elections Ltd, has been hit with a fresh fine of £15,000 (€16,500) including costs, for failing to comply with an enforcement notice delivered by the UK's data protection authority, the Information Commissioner's Office.
2019 LOOKAHEAD: Towards a ‘Techno-ethics’
2019 is likely to prove the dawn of a 'Techno-ethics' in which consumers will expect their rights to be respected in the digital realm as they are in everyday life and legislators will oblige tech giants to play by the same rules as the wider industry.
Facebook to pay €100m in Italian fiscal accord, while appealing UK fine
Facebook has agreed to pay more than €100 million to end a fiscal fraud dispute, Italian tax authorities said on Thursday (23 October). The announcement came as the social media giant pledged to appeal against an October fine of around €565,000 from the UK's data protection authority.
Eurobarometer survey: Jourová rings ‘alarm bells’ ahead of EU Elections
EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová has delivered a stark message to member states ahead of the European elections in 2019, warning on Tuesday (6 November) that "the risk of interference and manipulation has never been so high."
UK data chief demands overhaul of campaign rules after Brexit
The UK’s data chief has called for a new code of practice on the use of digital information in political campaigning in a new report published on Tuesday (6 November) in the wake of data scandals connected to the Brexit referendum.
Fighting digital authoritarianism: three proposals on how to tackle online interference
Our democracies in Europe are under attack from all sides – and online manipulations through fake news are at the heart of this threat.
Facebook hit with UK’s maximum fine as EU officials praise privacy efforts
Senior EU officials extolled the successes of the bloc’s data protection regulations on Thursday (25 October), as Facebook was fined £500,000 for its part in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Will Weber take a hammer to Facebook’s social media monopoly?
EPP MEP and lead candidate for Jean-Claude Junker's job as the next European Commission president, Manfred Weber, threw down the gauntlet on Friday (28 September), suggesting that he may support a breakup of Facebook and Whatsapp.
EU Elections 2019: Data protection a priority for next parliament, forecast shows
The next European Parliament is likely to offer citizens better protection of their data, according to a study conducted by a leading European think tank. At the same time, concerns are growing about the adequacy of an EU-US deal on exchanging personal data across the Atlantic.
Commission to crack down on data misuse ahead of European Elections
The European Commission is set to announce plans to clamp down on the misuse of personal data retrieved from social networks in the run-up to the 2019 European Elections, the Financial Times reported on Sunday (26 August).
Facebook under pressure for weak consumer policy
European regulators will announce next week whether they will punish Facebook for its consumer terms and conditions, after the company was warned in February that its rules do not comply with EU law.
Industry groups amp up lobby campaign to topple ePrivacy bill
Dozens of industry associations have made a last-ditch effort to water down the draft ePrivacy legislation before national telecoms ministers gather to discuss the file next week in Luxembourg.
GDPR: EU’s new data protection rules come into effect
The European Union's new data protection laws came into effect on Friday (25 May), with Brussels saying the changes will protect consumers from being like "people naked in an aquarium".
MEPs outraged over Zuckerberg’s EU Parliament show
Tensions soared between a handful of leading MEPs and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as the 34-year-old billionaire avoided answering detailed questions on the company’s data policies during a meeting in the European Parliament on Tuesday evening (22 May).
Zuckerberg’s Parliament meeting ‘the right thing’, says EU justice chief
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon (22 May) with European Parliament leaders is “the right thing for himself” after the company’s recent data collection scandal, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said in an interview.
Whistleblower: Cambridge Analytica shared data with Russia
Political consulting group Cambridge Analytica used Russian researchers and shared data with companies linked to Russian intelligence, a whistleblower told a congressional hearing on interference in the 2016 US election Wednesday (16 May).
Zuckerberg to meet European Parliament leaders in private session
After weeks of back-and-forth between the European Parliament and Facebook executives, CEO Mark Zuckerberg agreed on Wednesday (16 May) to meet with political leaders in Brussels over the company’s recent data breach scandal.
Commission demands EU leaders approve deadlocked ePrivacy bill
The European Commission is amping up pressure on EU leaders to approve a controversial privacy bill, deadlocked in legal talks for more than a year, after the data breach scandal involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica.
Commission threatens to legislate on ‘fake news’ ahead of 2019 EU election
The European Commission has threatened to introduce legislation on so-called fake news by the end of the year as part of its strategy to clamp down on online disinformation before the 2019 EU elections.
French cybersecurity chief warns against ‘step back into the past’
Draft EU legislation poses a threat to member states that already have sophisticated cybersecurity tests, like France and Germany, the director of France’s cybersecurity agency warned in an interview.
After Facebook scandal, MEPs argue the GDPR isn’t enough
The EU needs more legal safeguards to prevent massive privacy breaches like the current scandal over Facebook and British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, MEPs from different political parties argued on Wednesday (18 April).