2018-12-02 07.24.48

Parliament seizes cache of Facebook internal papers by Carole Cadwalladr (the Guardian)

Parliament has used its legal powers to seize internal Facebook documents in an extraordinary attempt to hold the US social media giant to account after chief executive Mark Zuckerberg repeatedly refused to answer MPs’ questions.

 

The cache of documents is alleged to contain significant revelations about Facebook decisions on data and privacy controls that led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. It is claimed they include confidential emails between senior executives and correspondence with Zuckerberg.

Years from now, will we consider this period of time to the enrichment of a few at the expense of society?

Student Data-Mining Scandal

The Student Data-Mining Scandal Under Our Noses, by Michelle Malkin by Michelle Malkin (creators.com)

Over the past four years, Google has admitted "scanning and indexing" student email messages sent using GAFE and data mining student users for commercial gain when they use their accounts for noneducational purposes. Google can collect student/family data to target ads through related services outside the GAFE suite, such as YouTube for Schools, Blogger and Google Plus. These are not covered under the already watered-down federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Surprise, not surprised; Google and Facebook are involved.

Google wants to scan your clothing and listen to you brush your teeth. Welcome home.

The Next Data Mine Is Your Bedroom by Sidney Fussell (The Atlantic)

For reward systems created by either users or companies to be possible, the devices would have to know what you’re doing at all times. The language of these patents makes it clear that Google is acutely aware of the powers of inference it has already, even without cameras, by augmenting speakers to recognize the noises you make as you move around the house. The auditory inferences are startling: Google’s smart-home system can infer “if a household member is working” from “an audio signature of keyboard clicking, a desk chair moving, and/or papers shuffling.” Google can make inferences on your mood based on whether it hears raised voices or crying, on when you’re in the kitchen based on the sound of the fridge door opening, on your dental hygiene based on “the sounds and/or images of teeth brushing.”