<p class="p1"><span class="s1">In a report released Monday, British lawmakers claim Facebook “intentionally and knowingly” violated the country’s data privacy laws. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The report is yet another step backwards for the social media giant, which has faced increasing criticism since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in March 2018. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Facebook’s “handling of personal data, and its use for political campaigns, are prime and legitimate areas for inspection by regulators, and it should not be able to evade all editorial responsibility for the content shared by its users across its platforms,” reads the report.</span></p>
<p>The 108-page document marks the end of an 18-month on <span class="s1">social media’s role in spreading disinformation (fake news) and interfering in politics. The study was conducted by the </span><span class="s1">British Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee following Parliament&#8217;s decision that Facebook broke the law when it failed to inform users their data was being used for political purposes by Cambridge Analytica. </span></p>
<p>Materials reviewed by the committee suggest Facebook was <span class="s1">“willing to override its users’ privacy settings in order to transfer data” to big companies like Spotify, Airbnb, and Netflix and used its market clout to drive others out of business. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Companies like Facebook should not be allowed to behave like ‘digital gangsters’ in the online world,” argues the report, &#8220;considering themselves to be ahead of and beyond the law.”</span></p>
<p>The report personally criticizes Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for<span class="s1"> refusing to meet with the committee (despite multiple invitations) and accuses him of sending in his place witnesses who “had not been properly briefed on critical issues.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Mr. Zuckerberg “continually fails to show the levels of leadership and personal responsibility that should be expected from someone who sits at the top of one of the world’s biggest companies,” laments committee chair Damian Collins.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>The committee is now calling on lawmakers to create legislation that would:</b></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="s1">Force Facebook to follow a code of ethics</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Hold Facebook accountable for harmful and incorrect content</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Create an independent watchdog with the power to fine Facebook for violations</span></li>
</ul>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Similar proposals are being considered by lawmakers in the US.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">—</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Despite the facts, Facebook denies that it sold user data or broke any laws and insists that it offers adequate transparency. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“We are not the same company we were a year ago,” argues Karim Palant, a public policy manager for Facebook. “We have tripled the size of the team working to detect and protect users from bad content to 30,000 people and invested heavily in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and computer vision technology to help prevent this type of abuse.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Palant acknowledged the company had made mistakes and was open to “meaningful regulation.” </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">In the meantime, the US Federal Trade Commission is</span><span class="s1"> negotiating a multi-billion fine with Facebook as it concludes an investigation launched in response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.</span></p>
<p>Similar to the complaints expressed by lawmakers in the UK, the FTC <span class="s1">says Facebook lacked transparency in regards to its data sharing. As reported by <em>The Washington Post</em>, the agency&#8217;s fine on Facebook will likely be the largest ever issued against a tech company. </span></p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> Could it be that governments are finally having the guts to fight for privacy rights? I like the trend but its still hit or miss that politicians can maintain a will against the large tech companies.</p>