UK-based Cambridge Analytica is learnt to have denied using data of Facebook users in India even as the social media giant has admitted that 5.62 lakh people in the country were potentially affected by the data breach, according to official sources.&nbsp;

After contradictory replies from the two companies on potential data breach of Indian users, the government now plans to seek additional clarification from them, the sources said.&nbsp;

The government had sought a reply from Cambridge Analytica (CA) over data breach charges by April 7. The UK-based firm had sought additional time and is believed to have submitted its reply recently.

“Cambridge Analytica has denied using any data of Indians from Facebook. There are discrepancies when replies of CA and Facebook were matched. The government will write to both the companies for further clarification,” an official source told PTI. CA has been accused of mining personal information of millions of Facebook users illegitimately to help political campaigns and influence polls in several countries. The Indian government had sent notices to both the companies seeking detailed explanation on any possible misuse of profile data of Indians to influence their voting behaviour.

The US-based Facebook last week admitted that 5.62 lakh people in India were “potentially affected” by the global data leak, involving CA. Facebook has over 20 crore users in India. Facebook has said it is “investigating” the specific number of people whose information was accessed, including those in India and also emphasised that the CA’s use of such data did not have its consent.

Facebook had admitted that data of about 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared by research company GSR with CA. The UK-based firm, however, has denied the allegation saying that the company licensed data for no more than 30 million people from GSR. “Our contract with GSR stated that all data must be obtained legally, and this contract is now a matter of public record. We took legal action against GSR when we found out they had breached this contract. When Facebook contacted us to let us know the data had been improperly obtained, we immediately deleted the raw data from our file server, and began the process of searching for and removing any of its derivatives in our system,” CA said in response to Facebook’s announcement.

CA has been accused of mining personal information of millions of Facebook users illegitimately to help political campaigns and influence polls in several countries.

UK-based Cambridge Analytica is learnt to have denied using data of Facebook users in India even as the social media giant has admitted that 5.62 lakh people in the country were potentially affected by the data breach, according to official sources. After contradictory replies from the two companies on potential data breach of Indian users, the government now plans to seek additional clarification from them, the sources said. The government had sought a reply from Cambridge Analytica (CA) over data breach charges by April 7. The UK-based firm had sought additional time and is believed to have submitted its reply recently. “Cambridge Analytica has denied using any data of Indians from Facebook. There are discrepancies when replies of CA and Facebook were matched. The government will write to both the companies for further clarification,” an official source told PTI. CA has been accused of mining personal information of millions of Facebook users illegitimately to help political campaigns and influence polls in several countries. The Indian government had sent notices to both the companies seeking detailed explanation on any possible misuse of profile data of Indians to influence their voting behaviour. The US-based Facebook last week admitted that 5.62 lakh people in India were “potentially affected” by the global data leak, involving CA. Facebook has over 20 crore users in India. Facebook has said it is “investigating” the specific number of people whose information was accessed, including those in India and also emphasised that the CA’s use of such data did not have its consent. Facebook had admitted that data of about 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared by research company GSR with CA. The UK-based firm, however, has denied the allegation saying that the company licensed data for no more than 30 million people from GSR. “Our contract with GSR stated that all data must be obtained legally, and this contract is now a matter of public record. We took legal action against GSR when we found out they had breached this contract. When Facebook contacted us to let us know the data had been improperly obtained, we immediately deleted the raw data from our file server, and began the process of searching for and removing any of its derivatives in our system,” CA said in response to Facebook’s announcement.

Cambridge Analytica denies using data of Indians, government to seek clarification

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday told lawmakers that his own personal data was included in that of 87 million or so Facebook users that was improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

But he pushed back on congress members' suggestions that users do not have enough control of their data on Facebook in the wake of the privacy scandal at the world's largest social media network.

"Every time that someone chooses to share something on Facebook ... there is a control. Right there. Not buried in the settings somewhere but right there," the 33-year-old internet magnate told the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.

Also watch: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/watch-us-senator-has-zuckerberg-have-a-taste-of-his-own-medicine-asks-for-personal-details--129860">US senator asks for personal details, Facebook's Zuckerberg won't give them</a>

Once again wearing a dark suit instead of his usual gray T-shirt, the hearing was Zuckerberg's second in two days. On Tuesday, he took questions for nearly five hours in a U.S. Senate hearing without making any further promises to support new legislation or change how the social network does business, foiling attempts by senators to pin him down.

Investors were impressed with his initial performance. Shares in Facebook posted their biggest daily gain in nearly two years on Tuesday, closing up 4.5 percent. They were down 0.7 percent in early trading on Wednesday.

Facebook has been consumed by turmoil for nearly a month, since it came to light that millions of users' personal information was wrongly harvested from the website by Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that has counted U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign among its clients.

Zuckerberg faced broad concerns from members of Congress about how Facebook shares user data.

"How can consumers have control over their data when Facebook does not have control over the data?" asked Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Commerce committee.

The latest estimate of affected users is up to 87 million.

Patience with the social network had already worn thin among users, advertisers and investors after the company said last year that Russia used Facebook for years to try to sway U.S. politics, an allegation Moscow denies.

Lawmakers have sought assurances that Facebook can effectively police itself, and few came away from Tuesday's hearing expressing confidence in the social network.

"I don't want to vote to have to regulate Facebook, but by God, I will," Republican Senator John Kennedy told Zuckerberg on Tuesday. "A lot of that depends on you."

Zuckerberg deflected requests to support specific legislation. Pressed repeatedly by Democratic Senator Ed Markey to endorse a proposed law that would require companies to get people's permission before sharing personal information, Zuckerberg agreed to further talks.

"In principle, I think that makes sense, and the details matter, and I look forward to having our team work with you on fleshing that out," Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg pushed back against congress members' suggestions that users do not have enough control of their data on Facebook

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday told lawmakers that his own personal data was included in that of 87 million or so Facebook users that was improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. But he pushed back on congress members' suggestions that users do not have enough control of their data on Facebook in the wake of the privacy scandal at the world's largest social media network. "Every time that someone chooses to share something on Facebook ... there is a control. Right there. Not buried in the settings somewhere but right there," the 33-year-old internet magnate told the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. Also watch: US senator asks for personal details, Facebook's Zuckerberg won't give them Once again wearing a dark suit instead of his usual gray T-shirt, the hearing was Zuckerberg's second in two days. On Tuesday, he took questions for nearly five hours in a U.S. Senate hearing without making any further promises to support new legislation or change how the social network does business, foiling attempts by senators to pin him down. Investors were impressed with his initial performance. Shares in Facebook posted their biggest daily gain in nearly two years on Tuesday, closing up 4.5 percent. They were down 0.7 percent in early trading on Wednesday. Facebook has been consumed by turmoil for nearly a month, since it came to light that millions of users' personal information was wrongly harvested from the website by Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that has counted U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign among its clients. Zuckerberg faced broad concerns from members of Congress about how Facebook shares user data. "How can consumers have control over their data when Facebook does not have control over the data?" asked Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Commerce committee. The latest estimate of affected users is up to 87 million. Patience with the social network had already worn thin among users, advertisers and investors after the company said last year that Russia used Facebook for years to try to sway U.S. politics, an allegation Moscow denies. Lawmakers have sought assurances that Facebook can effectively police itself, and few came away from Tuesday's hearing expressing confidence in the social network. "I don't want to vote to have to regulate Facebook, but by God, I will," Republican Senator John Kennedy told Zuckerberg on Tuesday. "A lot of that depends on you." Zuckerberg deflected requests to support specific legislation. Pressed repeatedly by Democratic Senator Ed Markey to endorse a proposed law that would require companies to get people's permission before sharing personal information, Zuckerberg agreed to further talks. "In principle, I think that makes sense, and the details matter, and I look forward to having our team work with you on fleshing that out," Zuckerberg said.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his own data was shared by Cambridge Analytica

Embattled Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg faced a US congressional committee over data leak to Cambridge Analytica on Tuesday.

The Facebook chief while apologising for the leak said his company will work harder to block hate messages on the social media site, calling the Myanmar situation a "terrible tragedy".

"What's happening in Myanmar is a terrible tragedy, and we need to do more," Zuckerberg said during a 5-hour joint hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee.

Several thousand Rohingyas have fled Myanmar, according to the UN at least 650, 5000 ethnic Rohingyas have crossed over to Bangladesh in order to save themselves from the Myanmar Army which has allegedly been carrying out mass persecution against them.

"It has ... substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict ... within the public. Hate speech is certainly, of course, a part of that," the Facebook chief said, adding," As far as the Myanmar situation is concerned, social media is Facebook, and Facebook is social media."&nbsp;

The UN including the US has termed the deteriorating state of the Rohingyas in Myanmar a case of "ethnic cleansing" with several other nations openly condemning the military regime which has been unable to stop the exodus to Bangladesh with the Rohingyas fearing mass persecution in the country.

"It's hard to do it without people who speak the local language, and we need to ramp up our effort there dramatically," &nbsp;Zuckerberg said.

He said a Facebook team would also make undisclosed product changes in Myanmar and other countries where ethnic violence was a problem.

United Nations officials investigating a possible genocide in Myanmar said last month that Facebook had been a source of anti-Rohingya propaganda

Embattled Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg faced a US congressional committee over data leak to Cambridge Analytica on Tuesday. The Facebook chief while apologising for the leak said his company will work harder to block hate messages on the social media site, calling the Myanmar situation a "terrible tragedy". "What's happening in Myanmar is a terrible tragedy, and we need to do more," Zuckerberg said during a 5-hour joint hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee. Several thousand Rohingyas have fled Myanmar, according to the UN at least 650, 5000 ethnic Rohingyas have crossed over to Bangladesh in order to save themselves from the Myanmar Army which has allegedly been carrying out mass persecution against them. "It has ... substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict ... within the public. Hate speech is certainly, of course, a part of that," the Facebook chief said, adding," As far as the Myanmar situation is concerned, social media is Facebook, and Facebook is social media." The UN including the US has termed the deteriorating state of the Rohingyas in Myanmar a case of "ethnic cleansing" with several other nations openly condemning the military regime which has been unable to stop the exodus to Bangladesh with the Rohingyas fearing mass persecution in the country. "It's hard to do it without people who speak the local language, and we need to ramp up our effort there dramatically," Zuckerberg said. He said a Facebook team would also make undisclosed product changes in Myanmar and other countries where ethnic violence was a problem.

'Facebook needs to do more to stop hate speech in Myanmar,' says Zuckerberg to US lawmakers

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during his congressional hearing today said he wants to ensure protection of integrity of elections, mentioning that he knows the importance of the upcoming polls in countries, including India, Hungary and Brazil.

Zuckerberg faced a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees.

He noted that there are several important elections in 2018 in countries like India, Hungary and Brazil and his company wants to ensure protection of integrity in these elections.

Zuckerberg, 33, testified before the senators and a House panel amid a firestorm over the alleged hijacking of data of millions of Facebook users by British firm Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has disclosed his company is "working with" special counsel Robert Mueller in the federal probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and working hard to change its own operations after the harvesting of users' private information by a Trump campaign-affiliated data-mining company.

The founder of the social media giant publicly apologized for his company's errors in failing to better protect the personal information of its millions of users, a controversy that has brought a flood of bad publicity and sent the company's stock value plunging. He seemed to achieve a measure of success: Facebook shares surged 4.5 per cent for the day, the biggest gain in two years.

Zuckerberg told the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees that he has not been personally interviewed by Mueller's team, but "I know we're working with them." He offered no details, citing a concern about confidentiality rules of the investigation.

Earlier this year Mueller charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies in a plot to interfere in the 2016 presidential election through a social media propaganda effort that included online ad purchases using US aliases and politicking on U.S. soil. A number of the Russian ads were on Facebook.

During yesterday's at-times-contentious hearing, Zuckerberg said it had been "clearly a mistake" to believe the data-mining company Cambridge Analytica had deleted user data that it had harvested in an attempt to sway elections. He said Facebook had considered the data collection "a closed case" because it thought the information had been discarded.

Facebook also didn't alert the Federal Trade Commission, Zuckerberg said, and he assured senators the company would handle the situation differently today.

He began a two-day congressional inquisition with a public apology for the way Facebook handled the data-mining of its users' data. He took responsibility for failing to prevent Cambridge Analytica, which was affiliated with Donald Trump's presidential campaign, from gathering personal information from 87 million users.

Separately, the company began alerting some of its users that their data was gathered by Cambridge Analytica. A notification that appeared on Facebook for some users Tuesday told them that "one of your friends" used Facebook to log into a now-banned personality quiz app called "This Is Your Digital Life." The notice says the app misused the information, including public profiles, page likes, birthdays and current cities, by sharing it with Cambridge Analytica.

Zuckerberg had apologized many times already, to users and the public, but this was the first time before Congress. He also is to testify Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the Commerce Committee chairman, told Zuckerberg his company had a 14-year history of apologizing for "ill-advised decisions" related to user privacy. "How is today's apology different?" Thune asked.

"We have made a lot of mistakes in running the company," Zuckerberg responded. "I think it's pretty much impossible, I believe, to start a company in your dorm room and then grow it to be at the scale that we're at now without making some mistakes." Zuckerberg said Facebook is going through "a broader philosophical shift in how we approach our responsibility as a company." He said the company needs to take a "more proactive role" that includes ensuring the tools it creates are used in "good and healthy" ways.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Zuckerberg's appearance marked the most intense hearing for a tech company since entrepreneur and businessman Bill Gates testified before Congress in March 1998.

Many of the senators' questions seemed to focus on Facebook's basic functions, such as its privacy settings and what it does and doesn't do with user data. Because each of the 44 senators had just 5 minutes to ask questions, there was little time for tough follow-ups. On some subjects, that allowed Zuckerberg to tell the lawmakers that his people would get back to them with more information.

In the hearings, Zuckerberg is trying to both restore public trust in his company and stave off federal regulations that some lawmakers have floated. In his opening statement, he also apologized for his company's involvement in facilitating fake news and Russian interference in the elections.

Zuckerberg said at a congressional hearing that he knows the importance of upcoming polls in India, Hungary and Brazil

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during his congressional hearing today said he wants to ensure protection of integrity of elections, mentioning that he knows the importance of the upcoming polls in countries, including India, Hungary and Brazil. Zuckerberg faced a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees. He noted that there are several important elections in 2018 in countries like India, Hungary and Brazil and his company wants to ensure protection of integrity in these elections. Zuckerberg, 33, testified before the senators and a House panel amid a firestorm over the alleged hijacking of data of millions of Facebook users by British firm Cambridge Analytica. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has disclosed his company is "working with" special counsel Robert Mueller in the federal probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and working hard to change its own operations after the harvesting of users' private information by a Trump campaign-affiliated data-mining company. The founder of the social media giant publicly apologized for his company's errors in failing to better protect the personal information of its millions of users, a controversy that has brought a flood of bad publicity and sent the company's stock value plunging. He seemed to achieve a measure of success: Facebook shares surged 4.5 per cent for the day, the biggest gain in two years. Zuckerberg told the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees that he has not been personally interviewed by Mueller's team, but "I know we're working with them." He offered no details, citing a concern about confidentiality rules of the investigation. Earlier this year Mueller charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies in a plot to interfere in the 2016 presidential election through a social media propaganda effort that included online ad purchases using US aliases and politicking on U.S. soil. A number of the Russian ads were on Facebook. During yesterday's at-times-contentious hearing, Zuckerberg said it had been "clearly a mistake" to believe the data-mining company Cambridge Analytica had deleted user data that it had harvested in an attempt to sway elections. He said Facebook had considered the data collection "a closed case" because it thought the information had been discarded. Facebook also didn't alert the Federal Trade Commission, Zuckerberg said, and he assured senators the company would handle the situation differently today. He began a two-day congressional inquisition with a public apology for the way Facebook handled the data-mining of its users' data. He took responsibility for failing to prevent Cambridge Analytica, which was affiliated with Donald Trump's presidential campaign, from gathering personal information from 87 million users. Separately, the company began alerting some of its users that their data was gathered by Cambridge Analytica. A notification that appeared on Facebook for some users Tuesday told them that "one of your friends" used Facebook to log into a now-banned personality quiz app called "This Is Your Digital Life." The notice says the app misused the information, including public profiles, page likes, birthdays and current cities, by sharing it with Cambridge Analytica. Zuckerberg had apologized many times already, to users and the public, but this was the first time before Congress. He also is to testify Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the Commerce Committee chairman, told Zuckerberg his company had a 14-year history of apologizing for "ill-advised decisions" related to user privacy. "How is today's apology different?" Thune asked. "We have made a lot of mistakes in running the company," Zuckerberg responded. "I think it's pretty much impossible, I believe, to start a company in your dorm room and then grow it to be at the scale that we're at now without making some mistakes." Zuckerberg said Facebook is going through "a broader philosophical shift in how we approach our responsibility as a company." He said the company needs to take a "more proactive role" that includes ensuring the tools it creates are used in "good and healthy" ways. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Zuckerberg's appearance marked the most intense hearing for a tech company since entrepreneur and businessman Bill Gates testified before Congress in March 1998. Many of the senators' questions seemed to focus on Facebook's basic functions, such as its privacy settings and what it does and doesn't do with user data. Because each of the 44 senators had just 5 minutes to ask questions, there was little time for tough follow-ups. On some subjects, that allowed Zuckerberg to tell the lawmakers that his people would get back to them with more information. In the hearings, Zuckerberg is trying to both restore public trust in his company and stave off federal regulations that some lawmakers have floated. In his opening statement, he also apologized for his company's involvement in facilitating fake news and Russian interference in the elections.

Want to ensure integrity of elections in India: Facebook's Zuckerberg

A day after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised to the US lawmakers for "<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/i-started-facebook-i-run-it-and-im-responsible-for-what-happens-here-zuckerberg-at-joint-senate-committee-hearing-129702">failing&nbsp;to secure the data of users</a>"&nbsp;on the social media giant, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has demanded an apology from Congress president Rahul Gandhi.&nbsp;

Prasad took to twitter asking Rahul Gandhi to apologise and ensure that he would "not manipulate voters and divide society in future".

He tweeted "Now that Cambridge Analytica's role in manipulating elections is clear and Facebook has assured to stop it and maintain the integrity&nbsp;of India's elections, probity demands that @RahulGandhi should apologise and promise not to manipulate voters and divide the society in future".

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Now that Cambridge Analytica‘s role in manipulating elections is clear & Facebook has assured to stop it and maintain integrity of India’s elections, probity demands that <a href="https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RahulGandhi</a> should apologise & promise not to manipulate voters and divide the society in future! <a href="https://t.co/xo4iJUJsBw">https://t.co/xo4iJUJsBw</a>
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) <a href="https://twitter.com/rsprasad/status/983925491253088257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Days before several reports had revealed how the consulting firm "Cambridge Analytica"&nbsp;used data scraped from 87 million Facebook users to target political advertisements ahead of the 2016 US election. 
&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/user-details-on-namo-app-sold-to-private-companies-french-security-researcher-36994">Rahul Gandhi had earlier attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi </a>of passing data of people who sign up for his official NaMo app to American companies.

He tweeted " Hi! My name is Narendra Modi. I am India's Prime Minister. When you sign up for my official Ap, I give all your data to my friends in American companies".

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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Hi! My name is Narendra Modi. I am India's Prime Minister. When you sign up for my official App, I give all your data to my friends in American companies. 
 
Ps. Thanks mainstream media, you're doing a great job of burying this critical story, as always.<a href="https://t.co/IZYzkuH1ZH">https://t.co/IZYzkuH1ZH</a>
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) <a href="https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/977778259810226177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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His attack was followed after a French security researcher had accused PM Modi of passing on the data of people connected to NaMo app.

The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/the-data-in-no-way-is-stored-or-used-by-the-third-party-services-government-on-namo-app-37032">government had responded to the attacks</a> by issuing a statement which said: "The data exposed by the French Twitter user is the data entered by the user on his own device. This is not a security breach. The person does not have access to any data apart from his own data."

&nbsp;

Union Law Minister tweeted 'Now that Cambridge Analytica's role in manipulating elections is clear and Facebook has assured to stop it and maintain the integrity of India's elections, probity demands that @RahulGandhi should apologise and promise not to manipulate voters and divide the society in future'

A day after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised to the US lawmakers for "failing to secure the data of users" on the social media giant, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has demanded an apology from Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Prasad took to twitter asking Rahul Gandhi to apologise and ensure that he would "not manipulate voters and divide society in future". He tweeted "Now that Cambridge Analytica's role in manipulating elections is clear and Facebook has assured to stop it and maintain the integrity of India's elections, probity demands that @RahulGandhi should apologise and promise not to manipulate voters and divide the society in future". Now that Cambridge Analytica‘s role in manipulating elections is clear & Facebook has assured to stop it and maintain integrity of India’s elections, probity demands that @RahulGandhi should apologise & promise not to manipulate voters and divide the society in future! https://t.co/xo4iJUJsBw — Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) April 11, 2018 × Days before several reports had revealed how the consulting firm "Cambridge Analytica" used data scraped from 87 million Facebook users to target political advertisements ahead of the 2016 US election. Rahul Gandhi had earlier attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi of passing data of people who sign up for his official NaMo app to American companies. He tweeted " Hi! My name is Narendra Modi. I am India's Prime Minister. When you sign up for my official Ap, I give all your data to my friends in American companies". Hi! My name is Narendra Modi. I am India's Prime Minister. When you sign up for my official App, I give all your data to my friends in American companies. Ps. Thanks mainstream media, you're doing a great job of burying this critical story, as always.https://t.co/IZYzkuH1ZH — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 25, 2018 × His attack was followed after a French security researcher had accused PM Modi of passing on the data of people connected to NaMo app. The government had responded to the attacks by issuing a statement which said: "The data exposed by the French Twitter user is the data entered by the user on his own device. This is not a security breach. The person does not have access to any data apart from his own data."

After Zuckerberg's apologies to US lawmakers, Ravi Shankar Prasad wants Rahul Gandhi to apologise

Among the tech leader who are&nbsp;giving up on Facebook following the data breach scandal, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple has also left the social media platform.

The decision of leaving facebook came after the growing concerns of data security and how the social media platforms treat such personal user information for their advertising gains.

Wozniak said to the USA today in a mail that he'd rather pay Facebook than his personal information being exploited for advertising. He further praised Apple for respecting user's privacy.&nbsp;

"Apple makes its money off of good products, not off of you," Wozniak said. "As they say, with Facebook, you are the product", he said.

Facebook came under fire for mishandling user's information as the UK based data mining firm Cambridge Analytica obtained the data through illegal measures. The company has assisted Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential election.

Mark Zuckerberg had also announced that as many as 87 million Facebook user's data was compromised in the whole scandal.

Wozniak has not completely deleted his account rather he just has deactivated so the no one can take the screen name of his.

Before deactivating his account, Wozniak went through his setting was shocked to see the extent to which that data has been collected.

"I was surprised to see how many categories for ads and how many advertisers I had to get rid of, one at a time. I did not feel that this is what people want done to them," he wrote. "Ads and spam are bad things these days and there are no controls over them. Or transparency," he wrote in a mail.

In March,<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/musk-deletes-facebook-pages-of-tesla-spacex-after-challenged-on-twitter-36893"> Elon Musk also deleted his Facebook </a>which had millions of followers after the billionaire promised on Twitter to take down the page.&nbsp;

A Twitter user had challenged Musk to delete his Facebook when hashtag #Deletefacebook was trending.&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/facebook-to-alert-indian-users-if-their-data-was-shared-with-cambridge-analytica-129432">Facebook to start telling Indian users if their data was shared with Cambridge Analytica</a>

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&nbsp;

I'd rather pay Facebook than my personal information being exploited for advertising said Steve Wozniak

Among the tech leader who are giving up on Facebook following the data breach scandal, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple has also left the social media platform. The decision of leaving facebook came after the growing concerns of data security and how the social media platforms treat such personal user information for their advertising gains. Wozniak said to the USA today in a mail that he'd rather pay Facebook than his personal information being exploited for advertising. He further praised Apple for respecting user's privacy. "Apple makes its money off of good products, not off of you," Wozniak said. "As they say, with Facebook, you are the product", he said. Facebook came under fire for mishandling user's information as the UK based data mining firm Cambridge Analytica obtained the data through illegal measures. The company has assisted Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential election. Mark Zuckerberg had also announced that as many as 87 million Facebook user's data was compromised in the whole scandal. Wozniak has not completely deleted his account rather he just has deactivated so the no one can take the screen name of his. Before deactivating his account, Wozniak went through his setting was shocked to see the extent to which that data has been collected. "I was surprised to see how many categories for ads and how many advertisers I had to get rid of, one at a time. I did not feel that this is what people want done to them," he wrote. "Ads and spam are bad things these days and there are no controls over them. Or transparency," he wrote in a mail. In March, Elon Musk also deleted his Facebook which had millions of followers after the billionaire promised on Twitter to take down the page. A Twitter user had challenged Musk to delete his Facebook when hashtag #Deletefacebook was trending. Also read: Facebook to start telling Indian users if their data was shared with Cambridge Analytica ×

Data breach row: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak deactivates his Facebook account

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower told American media on Sunday that the data gathered from Facebook by UK based data mining firm could be stored in Russia.

While speaking to an American channel on a show, Christopher Wylie also said that a "lot of people" have access to the data.

Wylie reportedly said, "it could be stored in various parts of the world including Russia, given the fact that the professor who was was managing the data harvesting process was going back and forth between the UK to Russia".

Wylie during the interview also said that the user data obtained from 87 million users the number could be higher than what Facebook has claimed.

He further informed that he was contacted by authorities of US including the department of justice. He ensured his cooperation with them.

On the question of whether it could be known that how many people have access to this data, Wylie said that the data could have been copied several times after it left Facebook's database.

"I know that Facebook is now starting to take steps to rectify that and start to find out who had access to it and where it could have gone, but ultimately it's not watertight to say that we can ensure that all the data is gone forever," CNN quoted him as saying.

Cambridge Analytica came under fire along with social media platform Facebook after the reports that it gathered personal information of Facebook users with illegal measures.

He was referring to the Cambridge University professor Aleksander Kogan who is a Russian data scientist&nbspgathered data through apps and sold it to the company who used to it in assisting Donald Trump in 2016 presidential election.

Before Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the personal data of up to 87 million users was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica news reports had stated that 50 million users were affected due to the breach.

The data breach was mostly in the United States.

Meanwhile, the company has denied the allegations of obtaining data through illegal ways and said that it acted in appropriate ways.

 
&nbsp

While speaking to an American channel on a show, Christopher Wylie also said that a 'lot of people' have access to the data

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower told American media on Sunday that the data gathered from Facebook by UK based data mining firm could be stored in Russia. While speaking to an American channel on a show, Christopher Wylie also said that a "lot of people" have access to the data. Wylie reportedly said, "it could be stored in various parts of the world including Russia, given the fact that the professor who was was managing the data harvesting process was going back and forth between the UK to Russia". Wylie during the interview also said that the user data obtained from 87 million users the number could be higher than what Facebook has claimed. He further informed that he was contacted by authorities of US including the department of justice. He ensured his cooperation with them. On the question of whether it could be known that how many people have access to this data, Wylie said that the data could have been copied several times after it left Facebook's database. "I know that Facebook is now starting to take steps to rectify that and start to find out who had access to it and where it could have gone, but ultimately it's not watertight to say that we can ensure that all the data is gone forever," CNN quoted him as saying. Cambridge Analytica came under fire along with social media platform Facebook after the reports that it gathered personal information of Facebook users with illegal measures. He was referring to the Cambridge University professor Aleksander Kogan who is a Russian data scientist&nbspgathered data through apps and sold it to the company who used to it in assisting Donald Trump in 2016 presidential election. Before Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the personal data of up to 87 million users was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica news reports had stated that 50 million users were affected due to the breach. The data breach was mostly in the United States. Meanwhile, the company has denied the allegations of obtaining data through illegal ways and said that it acted in appropriate ways.

Facebook data breach row: Data may be stored in Russia says Christopher Wylie

Under fire globally for allowing data breach, social media giant Facebook will on Monday start alerting the 87 million users, including 562,455 in India, whose data may have been compromised as the UK-based Cambridge Analytica pilfered them through an app.

The US-based company will send a detailed message at the top of users' news feed, offering information on apps they use and the information they have shared with those apps.

It will also tell people if their information may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, the data mining firm accused of harvesting personal information of millions of Facebook users illegally to influence polls in several countries.

"As part of this process we will also tell people if their information may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica," the company said last week.

Facebook users will also have the opportunity to use the link to delete apps and prevent them from collecting more information, CNN reported.

Also, all 2.2 billion Facebook users will receive a link to see what apps they use and what information they have shared with those apps.

Facebook says most of the affected users (more than 70 million) are in the US, though there are over a million each in the Philippines, Indonesia and the UK.

It said the total number of potentially impacted users in India (562,455 people) is 0.6 per cent of the global number of potentially affected people.&nbsp;

A Facebook spokesperson last week said privileged data of users who had downloaded the app called 'thisisyourdigitallife', developed by Dr Aleksandr Kogan, may have been compromised.

There are about 200 million Facebook users in India. Of them, "only 335 people" were directly affected through the installation of the app, while another 562,120 people were "potentially affected" as friends of those users, the spokesperson said.

"Cambridge Analytica's acquisition of Facebook data through the app developed by Dr Aleksandr Kogan and his company Global Science Research Limited (GSR) happened without our authorisation and was an explicit violation of our Platform policies," the spokesperson had said.

The past few days have seen a global outrage over the breach of user data on Facebook, forcing the company to issue an public apology.

Facebook will send a detailed message to users' news feeds, telling them which apps they use and the information that they may have shared with those apps

Under fire globally for allowing data breach, social media giant Facebook will on Monday start alerting the 87 million users, including 562,455 in India, whose data may have been compromised as the UK-based Cambridge Analytica pilfered them through an app. The US-based company will send a detailed message at the top of users' news feed, offering information on apps they use and the information they have shared with those apps. It will also tell people if their information may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, the data mining firm accused of harvesting personal information of millions of Facebook users illegally to influence polls in several countries. "As part of this process we will also tell people if their information may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica," the company said last week. Facebook users will also have the opportunity to use the link to delete apps and prevent them from collecting more information, CNN reported. Also, all 2.2 billion Facebook users will receive a link to see what apps they use and what information they have shared with those apps. Facebook says most of the affected users (more than 70 million) are in the US, though there are over a million each in the Philippines, Indonesia and the UK. It said the total number of potentially impacted users in India (562,455 people) is 0.6 per cent of the global number of potentially affected people. A Facebook spokesperson last week said privileged data of users who had downloaded the app called 'thisisyourdigitallife', developed by Dr Aleksandr Kogan, may have been compromised. There are about 200 million Facebook users in India. Of them, "only 335 people" were directly affected through the installation of the app, while another 562,120 people were "potentially affected" as friends of those users, the spokesperson said. "Cambridge Analytica's acquisition of Facebook data through the app developed by Dr Aleksandr Kogan and his company Global Science Research Limited (GSR) happened without our authorisation and was an explicit violation of our Platform policies," the spokesperson had said. The past few days have seen a global outrage over the breach of user data on Facebook, forcing the company to issue an public apology.

Facebook to start telling Indian users if their data was shared with Cambridge Analytica

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg will hold meetings with some US&nbsplawmakers on Monday, a day before he is due to appear at Congressional hearings over a political consultancy's use of customer data, two congressional aides said on Sunday.

The planned meetings at Capitol Hill are expected to continue through Monday afternoon and include some lawmakers from committees before whom Zuckerberg is due to testify, said the aides, who asked not to be identified because the meetings have not been made public.

Facebook declined to comment.

Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear before a joint hearing of the US&nbspSenate Judiciary and Commerce committees on Tuesday and the US&nbspHouse Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday.

Facebook has come under fire in recent weeks after it said that the personal information of up to 87 million users, mostly in the United States, may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

A Facebook spokesman said on Sunday that the company plans to begin telling affected users on Monday.

London-based Cambridge Analytica, which has counted US&nbspPresident Donald Trump's 2016 campaign among its clients, has disputed Facebook's estimate of the number of affected users.

Zuckerberg is expected in his testimony to recognize a need to take responsibility and acknowledge an initial failure to understand how many people were affected, a person briefed on the matter, who asked for anonymity, said on Sunday.

Zuckerberg said in a conference call with reporters last week that he accepted blame for the data leak, which has angered users, advertisers and lawmakers, while also saying he was still the right person to head the company he founded.

On Friday, Facebook backed proposed legislation requiring social media sites to disclose the identities of buyers of online political campaign ads and introduced a new verification process for people buying "issue" ads.

The steps are designed to deter the kind of election meddling and online information warfare that US&nbspauthorities have accused Russia of pursuing, Zuckerberg said on Friday. Moscow has denied the allegations.

In February, US&nbspSpecial Counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russians and three Russian companies with interfering in the 2016 US&nbsppresidential election by sowing discord on social media.

Zuckerberg, on the call with reporters, said Facebook should have done more to audit and oversee third-party app developers like the one hired by Cambridge Analytica in 2014.

The planned meetings at Capitol Hill are expected to continue through Monday afternoon and include some lawmakers from committees before whom Zuckerberg is due to testify

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg will hold meetings with some US&nbsplawmakers on Monday, a day before he is due to appear at Congressional hearings over a political consultancy's use of customer data, two congressional aides said on Sunday. The planned meetings at Capitol Hill are expected to continue through Monday afternoon and include some lawmakers from committees before whom Zuckerberg is due to testify, said the aides, who asked not to be identified because the meetings have not been made public. Facebook declined to comment. Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear before a joint hearing of the US&nbspSenate Judiciary and Commerce committees on Tuesday and the US&nbspHouse Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday. Facebook has come under fire in recent weeks after it said that the personal information of up to 87 million users, mostly in the United States, may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. A Facebook spokesman said on Sunday that the company plans to begin telling affected users on Monday. London-based Cambridge Analytica, which has counted US&nbspPresident Donald Trump's 2016 campaign among its clients, has disputed Facebook's estimate of the number of affected users. Zuckerberg is expected in his testimony to recognize a need to take responsibility and acknowledge an initial failure to understand how many people were affected, a person briefed on the matter, who asked for anonymity, said on Sunday. Zuckerberg said in a conference call with reporters last week that he accepted blame for the data leak, which has angered users, advertisers and lawmakers, while also saying he was still the right person to head the company he founded. On Friday, Facebook backed proposed legislation requiring social media sites to disclose the identities of buyers of online political campaign ads and introduced a new verification process for people buying "issue" ads. The steps are designed to deter the kind of election meddling and online information warfare that US&nbspauthorities have accused Russia of pursuing, Zuckerberg said on Friday. Moscow has denied the allegations. In February, US&nbspSpecial Counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russians and three Russian companies with interfering in the 2016 US&nbsppresidential election by sowing discord on social media. Zuckerberg, on the call with reporters, said Facebook should have done more to audit and oversee third-party app developers like the one hired by Cambridge Analytica in 2014.

Facebook's Zuckerberg to meet with US lawmakers Monday: Reports

Facebook says it has suspended a Canadian political consulting firm amid media reports it had ties to Cambridge Analytica, a British data mining company accused of obtaining data from up to 87 million Facebook users to sway elections.

Menlo Park, California-based Facebook says in a statement issued yesterday that AggregateIQ may have improperly received data from Facebook users. AggregateIQ will lose all Facebook access.

Cambridge Analytica was employed by Donald Trump's presidential campaign. It says it received data from 30 million users but never used it in the 2016 campaign.

Whistleblowers say AggregateIQ worked on the campaign for Great Britain to exit the European Union.

AggregateIQ says on its website it isn't part of Cambridge Analytica or parent firm SCL. It says it didn't have access to Facebook data from Cambridge Analytica.&nbsp

Menlo Park, California-based Facebook says in a statement issued yesterday that AggregateIQ may have improperly received data from Facebook users

Facebook says it has suspended a Canadian political consulting firm amid media reports it had ties to Cambridge Analytica, a British data mining company accused of obtaining data from up to 87 million Facebook users to sway elections. Menlo Park, California-based Facebook says in a statement issued yesterday that AggregateIQ may have improperly received data from Facebook users. AggregateIQ will lose all Facebook access. Cambridge Analytica was employed by Donald Trump's presidential campaign. It says it received data from 30 million users but never used it in the 2016 campaign. Whistleblowers say AggregateIQ worked on the campaign for Great Britain to exit the European Union. AggregateIQ says on its website it isn't part of Cambridge Analytica or parent firm SCL. It says it didn't have access to Facebook data from Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook suspends Canadian firm amid data mining scandal

In a recent revelation in the Facebook data sharing scandal, the social networking giant&nbsp;admitted that it has "discussed sharing user data"&nbsp;and "patient data"&nbsp;for a research project.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/87-million-user-data-improperly-shared-with-cambridge-analytica-facebook-128399">87 million user data 'improperly shared' with Cambridge Analytica says Facebook</a>

The revelation was made in a news report published by the US daily on Thursday.&nbsp;

The plan included both hospital and the social media company&nbsp;sharing data. The proposed plan also included using a process to match for individuals in both sets to prove how sharing information could improve patient care.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/facebook-data-leak-details-of-over-56-lakh-indian-users-may-have-been-shared-with-cambridge-analytica-128439">Over 5.6 lakh Indian users' details </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/facebook-data-leak-details-of-over-56-lakh-indian-users-may-have-been-shared-with-cambridge-analytica-128439">may've</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/facebook-data-leak-details-of-over-56-lakh-indian-users-may-have-been-shared-with-cambridge-analytica-128439"> been shared with Cambridge Analytica</a>

According to news reports, American College of Cardiology and Stanford University School of Medicine were among the medical institutions with whom the project was discussed.

However, the project was put on hold in March and Facebook did not share or analyze&nbsp;any user&nbsp;data.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/facebooks-major-focus-polls-in-india-us-pakistan-zuckerberg-128436">Facebook's major focus polls in India, US, Pakistan said Zuckerberg</a>

“This work has not progressed past the planning phase, and we have not received, shared, or analyzed anyone’s data,” &nbsp;Guardian reported Facebook's spokesperson as saying.

Meanwhile, as widely reported Facebook CEO <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/mark-zuckerberg-to-testify-before-us-house-commerce-panel-on-april-11-128323">Mark Zuckerberg will testify</a> before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 11.

Facebook has come under fire in recent weeks after reports that the personal data of over 80 million users of the website fell into the hands of a political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica that worked for US President Donald Trump's campaign.

In a blog post on Thursday, the company admitted that it might have "inappropriately"&nbsp;shared information regarding Indian users to Cambridge Analytica.

US-based&nbsp;social networking company is also facing fine of $33 million by Brazil&nbsp;after failing to give authorities access to messages as part of a health fraud investigation.

The proposed plan also included using a process to match for individuals in both sets to prove that how sharing information could improve patient care.

In a recent revelation in the Facebook data sharing scandal, the social networking giant admitted that it has "discussed sharing user data" and "patient data" for a research project. Also read: 87 million user data 'improperly shared' with Cambridge Analytica says Facebook The revelation was made in a news report published by the US daily on Thursday. The plan included both hospital and the social media company sharing data. The proposed plan also included using a process to match for individuals in both sets to prove how sharing information could improve patient care. Also read: Over 5.6 lakh Indian users' details may've been shared with Cambridge Analytica According to news reports, American College of Cardiology and Stanford University School of Medicine were among the medical institutions with whom the project was discussed. However, the project was put on hold in March and Facebook did not share or analyze any user data. Also read: Facebook's major focus polls in India, US, Pakistan said Zuckerberg “This work has not progressed past the planning phase, and we have not received, shared, or analyzed anyone’s data,” Guardian reported Facebook's spokesperson as saying. Meanwhile, as widely reported Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 11. Facebook has come under fire in recent weeks after reports that the personal data of over 80 million users of the website fell into the hands of a political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica that worked for US President Donald Trump's campaign. In a blog post on Thursday, the company admitted that it might have "inappropriately" shared information regarding Indian users to Cambridge Analytica. US-based social networking company is also facing fine of $33 million by Brazil after failing to give authorities access to messages as part of a health fraud investigation.

Facebook discussed sharing user data for medical project: Report

Facebook has deployed technology tools like artificial intelligence and thousands of people to work on security as the company's "major focus" this year is to protect the integrity of upcoming elections in several countries, including India, on its platform, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said.

Terming 2018 a "big year" for elections, Zuckerberg said Facebook was enhancing its security features to prevent trolls from spreading information.

The social media giant has been slammed over a major data breach scandal by Cambridge Analytica, a British firm linked to Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

"In the US Senate Alabama special election last year, we successfully deployed some new artificial intelligence (AI) tools that removed Macedonian trolls who were trying to spread information during the election. We now have about 15,000 people working on security and content review and we'll have more than 20,000 by the end of this year," Zuckerberg told reporters during a conference call yesterday.

"This is going to be a big year for elections ahead with the US midterms and elections in India, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, Hungary and others. This is going to be a major focus for us," he said.

Several Indian states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are scheduled to go for polls this year and the general elections are due in a little over a year from now.

A day earlier, Zuckerberg said Facebook had taken big steps by taking down Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) pages that were targeting the US.

"Since we became aware of their activity after the 2016 US elections, we've been working to root out the IRA and protect the integrity of elections around the world," he said.

"There have been a number of important elections that we've focused on. A few months after the 2016 elections, there was a French presidential election and leading up to that we deployed some new AI tools that took down more than 30,000 fake accounts," he said.

In German election, the company developed a new playbook for working with the local election commission on share information on threats it received, he said.

"We have more work to do here and we're going to continue working very hard to defend against them. There's the Mexican presidential election, there are big elections in India and Brazil as well as in Pakistan and Hungary and a number of other countries and the US midterms, of course," he said.

Zuckerberg pointed out three different types of activity that required different strategies for fighting.

Economic actors, who are basically spammers the second are governments trying to interfere in elections, and then the third is just polarisation and sometimes lack of truthfulness in what you've described as the media, he said.

"If we just make it so that the economics stop working for them then they'll move on to something else. I mean, these are literally the same type of people who had been sending you Viagra e-mails in the '90s. We can attack it on both sides. On the revenue side, we make it so that they can't run the Facebook ad network," he said.

The second category are the national security type issues, Zuckerberg said, adding that is the Russian election interference.

"In order to solve that, what we need to do is to identify these bad actors...What we need to do is to just track that really carefully in order to just be able to remove it from Facebook entirely," he said.

Zuckerberg alleged that some media organisations that are sanctioned news outlets in Russia when investigated closely over time, clearly come out as organisations completely owned, controlled and operated by the IRA.

"So we take them down and treat that as a security issue," he said.

Facebook has deployed technology tools like artificial intelligence and thousands of people to work on security as the company's 'major focus' this year is to protect the integrity of upcoming elections in several countries

Facebook has deployed technology tools like artificial intelligence and thousands of people to work on security as the company's "major focus" this year is to protect the integrity of upcoming elections in several countries, including India, on its platform, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said. Terming 2018 a "big year" for elections, Zuckerberg said Facebook was enhancing its security features to prevent trolls from spreading information. The social media giant has been slammed over a major data breach scandal by Cambridge Analytica, a British firm linked to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. "In the US Senate Alabama special election last year, we successfully deployed some new artificial intelligence (AI) tools that removed Macedonian trolls who were trying to spread information during the election. We now have about 15,000 people working on security and content review and we'll have more than 20,000 by the end of this year," Zuckerberg told reporters during a conference call yesterday. "This is going to be a big year for elections ahead with the US midterms and elections in India, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, Hungary and others. This is going to be a major focus for us," he said. Several Indian states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are scheduled to go for polls this year and the general elections are due in a little over a year from now. A day earlier, Zuckerberg said Facebook had taken big steps by taking down Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) pages that were targeting the US. "Since we became aware of their activity after the 2016 US elections, we've been working to root out the IRA and protect the integrity of elections around the world," he said. "There have been a number of important elections that we've focused on. A few months after the 2016 elections, there was a French presidential election and leading up to that we deployed some new AI tools that took down more than 30,000 fake accounts," he said. In German election, the company developed a new playbook for working with the local election commission on share information on threats it received, he said. "We have more work to do here and we're going to continue working very hard to defend against them. There's the Mexican presidential election, there are big elections in India and Brazil as well as in Pakistan and Hungary and a number of other countries and the US midterms, of course," he said. Zuckerberg pointed out three different types of activity that required different strategies for fighting. Economic actors, who are basically spammers the second are governments trying to interfere in elections, and then the third is just polarisation and sometimes lack of truthfulness in what you've described as the media, he said. "If we just make it so that the economics stop working for them then they'll move on to something else. I mean, these are literally the same type of people who had been sending you Viagra e-mails in the '90s. We can attack it on both sides. On the revenue side, we make it so that they can't run the Facebook ad network," he said. The second category are the national security type issues, Zuckerberg said, adding that is the Russian election interference. "In order to solve that, what we need to do is to identify these bad actors...What we need to do is to just track that really carefully in order to just be able to remove it from Facebook entirely," he said. Zuckerberg alleged that some media organisations that are sanctioned news outlets in Russia when investigated closely over time, clearly come out as organisations completely owned, controlled and operated by the IRA. "So we take them down and treat that as a security issue," he said.

Facebook's major focus polls in India, US, Pakistan: Zuckerberg

As Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg gets ready to testify before the US House committee, the social media giant revealed the personal data of up to 87 million users was "improperly shared" with British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

New reports in the past fortnight had said 50 million users were affected due to the breach by Cambridge Analytica which is linked to President Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. The data breach was mostly in the US, the company said.

"I'm quite confident it will not be more than 87 million, it could well be less," Zuckerberg said, while saying, "When you're building something like Facebook which is unprecedented in the world, there are things that you're going to mess up."

Meanwhile, with fingers pointed over his leadership of the social network behemoth with 2 billion users, Zuckerberg said he accepted responsibility for the failure to protect user data but asserted that he is still the best person to lead the network.

"I think life is about learning from the mistakes and figuring out how to move forward," he said.

Zuckerberg said had not fired anyone over the scandal and did not plan to. "I'm not looking to throw anyone else under the bus for mistakes that we made here," he said.

Zuckerberg who has been under pressure from all quarters will now appear before the &nbspHouse of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee on April 11th to speak about the causes of the data leak.

"It will be an important opportunity to shed light on critical consumer data privacy issues and help all Americans better understand what happens to their personal information online," committee chairmen Greg Walden and &nbspFrank Pallone in a statement.

<iframe allow="autoplay encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xzdOEaggGq8" width="560"></iframe>

&nbsp

Zuckerberg said had not fired anyone over the scandal and did not plan to.

As Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg gets ready to testify before the US House committee, the social media giant revealed the personal data of up to 87 million users was "improperly shared" with British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. New reports in the past fortnight had said 50 million users were affected due to the breach by Cambridge Analytica which is linked to President Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. The data breach was mostly in the US, the company said. "I'm quite confident it will not be more than 87 million, it could well be less," Zuckerberg said, while saying, "When you're building something like Facebook which is unprecedented in the world, there are things that you're going to mess up." Meanwhile, with fingers pointed over his leadership of the social network behemoth with 2 billion users, Zuckerberg said he accepted responsibility for the failure to protect user data but asserted that he is still the best person to lead the network. "I think life is about learning from the mistakes and figuring out how to move forward," he said. Zuckerberg said had not fired anyone over the scandal and did not plan to. "I'm not looking to throw anyone else under the bus for mistakes that we made here," he said. Zuckerberg who has been under pressure from all quarters will now appear before the &nbspHouse of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee on April 11th to speak about the causes of the data leak. "It will be an important opportunity to shed light on critical consumer data privacy issues and help all Americans better understand what happens to their personal information online," committee chairmen Greg Walden and &nbspFrank Pallone in a statement.

87 million user data 'improperly shared' with Cambridge Analytica: Facebook

The government will wait for a response from British data mining firm Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken in the Facebook data leak case, a source said today.

Analytica has been accused of harvesting personal information of over millions of Facebook users illegally to influence polls in several countries.

US-based social media giant Facebook had said earlier in the day that 5.62 lakh people in India were “potentially affected” by global data leak, involving Analytica.

A senior government official confirmed that the IT ministry has received Facebook’s response to its notice.

The Indian government will wait for a response of Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken in Facebook data leak case, the source said.

Facebook has over 20 crore users in the country and the Indian government last month had shot-off notices to both Facebook and Analytica on the data breach issue.

Facebook had yesterday admitted that data on about 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.

The IT ministry has received Facebook's response to its notice, the government will wait for a response from Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken, the source said.

The government will wait for a response from British data mining firm Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken in the Facebook data leak case, a source said today. Analytica has been accused of harvesting personal information of over millions of Facebook users illegally to influence polls in several countries. US-based social media giant Facebook had said earlier in the day that 5.62 lakh people in India were “potentially affected” by global data leak, involving Analytica. A senior government official confirmed that the IT ministry has received Facebook’s response to its notice. The Indian government will wait for a response of Cambridge Analytica before deciding on the action to be taken in Facebook data leak case, the source said. Facebook has over 20 crore users in the country and the Indian government last month had shot-off notices to both Facebook and Analytica on the data breach issue. Facebook had yesterday admitted that data on about 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.

‘Govt to wait for Cambridge Analytica’s reply before action in Facebook data leak case’

Facebook on Wednesday admitted that the company might have inappropriately shared information regarding Indian subscribers to tainted data firm Cambridge Analytica.

In a blog post, &nbsp;<a href="http://cmsuat.wionews.com/world/87-million-user-data-improperly-shared-with-cambridge-analytica-facebook-128399">Facebook said</a> that information about 562,455 subscribers in India — 0.6% of the complete count — may have been shared with the data firm that has worked with several Indian political parties for a long time. However, Facebook did not specify whether the company used that information for its clients.

Facebook’s chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer also said in that blog which ran under his byline on the company’s website, that the number of subscribers whose data was shared with the controversial political consultancy was much higher at 87 million than the 50 million it had conceded earlier.

These new revelations came ahead of a conference call with reporters in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he had made a “huge mistake” personally by not focusing on data privacy.

&nbsp;Facebook has deployed technology tools like artificial intelligence and thousands of people to work on security as the company's "major focus" this year is to protect the integrity of upcoming elections in several countries, including India, on its platform, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said.

Terming 2018 a "big year" for elections, Zuckerberg said Facebook was enhancing its security features to prevent trolls from spreading information.

"This is going to be a big year for elections ahead with the US midterms and elections in India, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, Hungary and others. This is going to be a major focus for us," he said.

Several Indian states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are scheduled to go for polls this year and the general elections are due in a little over a year from now. 
&nbsp;

These new revelations came ahead of a conference call with reporters in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he had made a “huge mistake” personally by not focusing on data privacy.

Facebook on Wednesday admitted that the company might have inappropriately shared information regarding Indian subscribers to tainted data firm Cambridge Analytica. In a blog post, Facebook said that information about 562,455 subscribers in India — 0.6% of the complete count — may have been shared with the data firm that has worked with several Indian political parties for a long time. However, Facebook did not specify whether the company used that information for its clients. Facebook’s chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer also said in that blog which ran under his byline on the company’s website, that the number of subscribers whose data was shared with the controversial political consultancy was much higher at 87 million than the 50 million it had conceded earlier. These new revelations came ahead of a conference call with reporters in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he had made a “huge mistake” personally by not focusing on data privacy. Facebook has deployed technology tools like artificial intelligence and thousands of people to work on security as the company's "major focus" this year is to protect the integrity of upcoming elections in several countries, including India, on its platform, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said. Terming 2018 a "big year" for elections, Zuckerberg said Facebook was enhancing its security features to prevent trolls from spreading information. "This is going to be a big year for elections ahead with the US midterms and elections in India, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, Hungary and others. This is going to be a major focus for us," he said. Several Indian states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are scheduled to go for polls this year and the general elections are due in a little over a year from now.

Facebook leak: Over 5.6 lakh Indian users' details may've been shared with Cambridge Analytica

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that it will take "a few years" to the fix the aftermath of the data breach scandal.&nbsp;

In an interview with an American news website, <a href="http://cmsuat.wionews.com/world/we-do-not-monetise-our-customers-tim-cook-criticises-facebook-128016">Zuckerberg</a> noted that one of the problems was that the company was "idealistic". &nbsp;

He noted that the company was focusing on the positive aspects of connecting people and "didn't spend enough time investing in, or thinking through, some of the downsides uses of the tools."

"I think we will dig through this hole, but it will take a few years. I wish I could solve all these issues in three months or six months, but I just think the reality is that solving some of these questions is just going to take a longer period of time," he noted.

The Mark-Zuckerberg-led company has come under the scanner over user data breach of close to 50 million users.

Zuckerberg recently admitted to having "made mistakes" over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. He apologised for a "breach of trust" that had occurred between Facebook and its users.

In an interview with an American news website, Zuckerberg noted that one of the problems was that the company was 'idealistic'

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that it will take "a few years" to the fix the aftermath of the data breach scandal. In an interview with an American news website, Zuckerberg noted that one of the problems was that the company was "idealistic". He noted that the company was focusing on the positive aspects of connecting people and "didn't spend enough time investing in, or thinking through, some of the downsides uses of the tools." "I think we will dig through this hole, but it will take a few years. I wish I could solve all these issues in three months or six months, but I just think the reality is that solving some of these questions is just going to take a longer period of time," he noted. The Mark-Zuckerberg-led company has come under the scanner over user data breach of close to 50 million users. Zuckerberg recently admitted to having "made mistakes" over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. He apologised for a "breach of trust" that had occurred between Facebook and its users.

I wish I could solve issues in 3-6 months; it will take few years: Zuckerberg on Facebook crisis

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently reacted to Tim Cook's criticism saying that Cook's comments on Facebook were unfounded.&nbsp;

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Zuckerberg, in an interview on Monday, defended his company's business model and called Cook's comments "extremely glib", not "aligned with the truth".

Tim Cook's comments came in the wake of the ongoing Facebook data breach row. When asked how would he have handled the situation, Cook replied saying that he would not have been in such a situation in the first place.&nbsp;

Tim Cook further noted that a company can make a lot of money by monetising its customers, but "we have elected not to do that".

Zuckerberg took a defensive stance stating that not everyone one can afford to pay for a service that helps connect everyone in the world.&nbsp;

"Having an advertising-supported model is the only rational model that can support building this service," he told a leading American media house.&nbsp;

Cook, in a recent interview,&nbsp;pressed for more stringent regulations on social media. He questioned the practice of monetising user data by selling ads that let advertisers identify their target group of users.

Facebook, on the other hand, is an entity that thrives on selling such advertisements.

The Mark-Zuckerberg-led company has come under the scanner over user data breach of close to 50 million users.

Zuckerberg recently admitted to having "made mistakes" over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. He apologised for the "breach of trust" that had occurred between Facebook and its users.

Zuckerberg took a defensive stance stating that not everyone one can afford to pay for a service that helps connect everyone in the world

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently reacted to Tim Cook's criticism saying that Cook's comments on Facebook were unfounded. × Zuckerberg, in an interview on Monday, defended his company's business model and called Cook's comments "extremely glib", not "aligned with the truth". Tim Cook's comments came in the wake of the ongoing Facebook data breach row. When asked how would he have handled the situation, Cook replied saying that he would not have been in such a situation in the first place. Tim Cook further noted that a company can make a lot of money by monetising its customers, but "we have elected not to do that". Zuckerberg took a defensive stance stating that not everyone one can afford to pay for a service that helps connect everyone in the world. "Having an advertising-supported model is the only rational model that can support building this service," he told a leading American media house. Cook, in a recent interview, pressed for more stringent regulations on social media. He questioned the practice of monetising user data by selling ads that let advertisers identify their target group of users. Facebook, on the other hand, is an entity that thrives on selling such advertisements. The Mark-Zuckerberg-led company has come under the scanner over user data breach of close to 50 million users. Zuckerberg recently admitted to having "made mistakes" over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. He apologised for the "breach of trust" that had occurred between Facebook and its users.

We do not monetise our customers: Tim Cook criticises Facebook

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/everything-you-want-to-know-about-cambridge-analytica-36662">Cambridge Analytica</a>, the firm at the centre of Facebook users' data breach scandal, has sought one more week to respond to government's notice on whether it was involved in misuse of data to profile Indians and influence their voting behavior.

The notice had gone out to Cambridge Analytica over media reports about questionable practices attributed to the UK-based firm in its efforts to allegedly influence elections by harvesting data of Facebook users globally.

Sources privy to the development said that Cambridge Analytica has now sought an additional time of one week to send its response to the notice issued by the Indian government.

Also, the government of Nigeria is scrutinising the reports of the data mining firm Cambridge Analytica, which swiped the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections in many countries.

The affected countries include Nigeria, where Cambridge Analytica waged a campaign to perpetuate discord and hack into personal records of the then leading opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s Premium Times reported.

Also read:&nbsp<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/chris-wylie-left-in-2014-has-no-direct-knowledge-of-companys-practices-cambridge-analytica-126812">Chris Wylie left in 2014, has no direct knowledge of company's practices: Cambridge Analytica</a>

Cambridge Analytica and Facebook came under fire after the British firm was accused of harvesting personal information of over 50 million Facebook users illegally to influence polls in several countries.

The IT Ministry shot off notices to both <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/india-queries-cambridge-analytica-over-alleged-facebook-data-breach-36931">Cambridge Analytica</a> and Facebook on the data breach issue, giving them time till March 31, and April 7, respectively, to respond.

The government questioned Cambridge Analytica on whether it had been "engaged in any assignment to utilise data of Indians" pertaining to the recent breach, and also the entities that had used its services. Details were also sought on the methods used by the company to acquire such data and whether consent was taken from users.

An official statement issued last month had said: "Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India, has issued a notice... To Cambridge Analytica, wherein the serious breach of propriety and misuse of data intended to profile and influence voting behaviour has been highlighted".

"Was there any profiling done on the basis of such data?," the Ministry had asked the company, following reports that political parties had used the data analytics firm during elections.

Also read:&nbsp<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cambridge-analyticas-parent-company-involved-in-honor-killing-cases-in-india-reports-127122">Cambridge Analytica's parent company involved in 'honor killing' cases in India: Reports</a>

Meanwhile, Facebook users whose data was harvested by Cambridge Analytica could be entitled to more than £12,000 in compensation, according to reports.

Facebook could face costs of £625billion and be forced to pay £12,500 in damages to the people affected, reports quoted Dr Maureen Mapp as saying.&nbsp

Law and IT Minster Ravi Shankar Prasad has already<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/india-queries-cambridge-analytica-over-alleged-facebook-data-breach-36931"> warned the social media giant </a>of "stringent" action for any attempt to influence polls through data theft, and had even threatened to summon its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, if needed.&nbsp

The notice had gone out to Cambridge Analytica over media reports about questionable practices attributed to the UK-based firm in its efforts to allegedly influence elections by harvesting data of Facebook users globally

Cambridge Analytica, the firm at the centre of Facebook users' data breach scandal, has sought one more week to respond to government's notice on whether it was involved in misuse of data to profile Indians and influence their voting behavior. The notice had gone out to Cambridge Analytica over media reports about questionable practices attributed to the UK-based firm in its efforts to allegedly influence elections by harvesting data of Facebook users globally. Sources privy to the development said that Cambridge Analytica has now sought an additional time of one week to send its response to the notice issued by the Indian government. Also, the government of Nigeria is scrutinising the reports of the data mining firm Cambridge Analytica, which swiped the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections in many countries. The affected countries include Nigeria, where Cambridge Analytica waged a campaign to perpetuate discord and hack into personal records of the then leading opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s Premium Times reported. Also read: Chris Wylie left in 2014, has no direct knowledge of company's practices: Cambridge Analytica Cambridge Analytica and Facebook came under fire after the British firm was accused of harvesting personal information of over 50 million Facebook users illegally to influence polls in several countries. The IT Ministry shot off notices to both Cambridge Analytica and Facebook on the data breach issue, giving them time till March 31, and April 7, respectively, to respond. The government questioned Cambridge Analytica on whether it had been "engaged in any assignment to utilise data of Indians" pertaining to the recent breach, and also the entities that had used its services. Details were also sought on the methods used by the company to acquire such data and whether consent was taken from users. An official statement issued last month had said: "Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India, has issued a notice... To Cambridge Analytica, wherein the serious breach of propriety and misuse of data intended to profile and influence voting behaviour has been highlighted". "Was there any profiling done on the basis of such data?," the Ministry had asked the company, following reports that political parties had used the data analytics firm during elections. Also read: Cambridge Analytica's parent company involved in 'honor killing' cases in India: Reports Meanwhile, Facebook users whose data was harvested by Cambridge Analytica could be entitled to more than £12,000 in compensation, according to reports. Facebook could face costs of £625billion and be forced to pay £12,500 in damages to the people affected, reports quoted Dr Maureen Mapp as saying. Law and IT Minster Ravi Shankar Prasad has already warned the social media giant of "stringent" action for any attempt to influence polls through data theft, and had even threatened to summon its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, if needed.

Cambridge Analytica asks for one more week on data breach notice

Amid the ongoing Facebook data breach scandal, United Nations on Thursday raised concern over the privacy issue and said that most counties are ill-prepared for the digital economy.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cambridge-analyticas-parent-company-involved-in-honor-killing-cases-in-india-reports-127122">Cambridge Analytica's parent company involved in '</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cambridge-analyticas-parent-company-involved-in-honor-killing-cases-in-india-reports-127122">honor</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cambridge-analyticas-parent-company-involved-in-honor-killing-cases-in-india-reports-127122"> killing' cases in India: Reports</a>

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development -- main agency dealing with the economics of globalisation -- Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said: "The current debate about Facebook and data privacy vividly illustrates that most countries are ill-prepared for the digital economy.”

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/colombia-blocks-app-it-says-possibly-linked-to-cambridge-analytica-126870">Colombia blocks app it says possibly linked to Cambridge Analytica</a>

"This is more worrying given that about 90%&nbspof new Internet users over the last five years live in developing countries about half of which currently lack legislation to protect their privacy," he added.

UNCTAD further said, "the internet user growth is booming and with more people ever purchasing goods and services online, protecting their privacy must be a top priority."

"The digital economy is evolving fast. Between 2012 and 2017, the number of monthly Facebook users surged from 1 billion to 2.2 billion – with the fastest growth happening in developing countries."

The economic agency further mentioned about global e-commerce reaching almost $26 trillion in 2016.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/chris-wylie-left-in-2014-has-no-direct-knowledge-of-companys-practices-cambridge-analytica-126812">Chris Wylie left in 2014, has no direct knowledge of company's practices: Cambridge Analytica</a>

The United States said to remain the largest market by far, with combined e-commerce sales of some $7.6 trillion, with Japan ranking at second.

The privacy concerns were raised after the reports of UK based data analysis company, Cambridge Analytica assisting in Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential elections came in the light.

The company is facing government search in the London office by US authorities for obtainning Facebook users' data with illegal measures.

Kituyi’s call for increasing security coincides with the agency’s E-Commerce Week in Geneva next month.&nbsp

It is the leading forum for governments, the private sector, development banks, academia and the civil society to discuss development opportunities and challenges before the evolving digital economy.

(With inputs from PTI)

Amid the ongoing Facebook data breach scandal, United Nations on Thursday raised concern over the privacy issue and said that most counties are ill-prepared for the digital economy

Amid the ongoing Facebook data breach scandal, United Nations on Thursday raised concern over the privacy issue and said that most counties are ill-prepared for the digital economy. Also read: Cambridge Analytica's parent company involved in 'honor killing' cases in India: Reports United Nations Conference on Trade and Development -- main agency dealing with the economics of globalisation -- Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said: "The current debate about Facebook and data privacy vividly illustrates that most countries are ill-prepared for the digital economy.” Also read: Colombia blocks app it says possibly linked to Cambridge Analytica "This is more worrying given that about 90%&nbspof new Internet users over the last five years live in developing countries about half of which currently lack legislation to protect their privacy," he added. UNCTAD further said, "the internet user growth is booming and with more people ever purchasing goods and services online, protecting their privacy must be a top priority." "The digital economy is evolving fast. Between 2012 and 2017, the number of monthly Facebook users surged from 1 billion to 2.2 billion – with the fastest growth happening in developing countries." The economic agency further mentioned about global e-commerce reaching almost $26 trillion in 2016. Also read: Chris Wylie left in 2014, has no direct knowledge of company's practices: Cambridge Analytica The United States said to remain the largest market by far, with combined e-commerce sales of some $7.6 trillion, with Japan ranking at second. The privacy concerns were raised after the reports of UK based data analysis company, Cambridge Analytica assisting in Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential elections came in the light. The company is facing government search in the London office by US authorities for obtainning Facebook users' data with illegal measures. Kituyi’s call for increasing security coincides with the agency’s E-Commerce Week in Geneva next month. It is the leading forum for governments, the private sector, development banks, academia and the civil society to discuss development opportunities and challenges before the evolving digital economy. (With inputs from PTI)

Most counties are ill-prepared for the digital economy: UN

Cambridge Analytica has come under more scrutiny after reports of its parent company was not only involved in the Indian elections since 2003 but also worked on cases related to honor killings, reports said on Thursday.

Strategic Communications Limited states in one of the documents that it completed a project on “honour killings and cultural change” in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan between 2009 and 2010, and goes on to explain its achievement.

The document wrote: “Despite numerous legal instruments and policy pronouncements the custom of honour killing remains an issue in India and one that does not chime with its self-image as a modern democracy. At the level of enforcement, local police and magistrates are often sympathetic to the practice of killing."

“This has made systematic enforcement of the law somewhat problematic. SCL helped its client to better understand the often convoluted and secretive culture surrounding honour killings. The caste framework is deeply embedded into Indian society, however, economic growth and the breakdown of prejudices amongst the younger generation has challenged preconceptions around traditional culture."

“SCL examined the cultural and social systems that gave rise to killings, including the socio-cultural understandings of honour (maryada) that drove the murders. SCL analysed the issue via problem space mapping and on that foundation proposed a number of interventions to stop honour killings taking place.”

Also see:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/india-queries-cambridge-analytica-over-alleged-facebook-data-breach-36931">India queries Cambridge Analytica over alleged Facebook data breach</a>

A set of documents which were released by whistleblower Christopher Wylie also included information on issues that of “comprehensive research, followed by a targeted intervention, radically changed voter behaviour in Thailand”, and “Covert sponsorship of peaceful rallies in Indonesia prevented disorder and ensured a smooth transition to civilian rule”.

Documents given to the British parliamentary committee on digital, culture, media and sport, which was published on Thursday, includes texts of agreements that Strategic Communications Limited signed for elections in the US and elsewhere, reports said.&nbsp;

It is also said that the parent company had access to secret UK information and was singled out for praise by the UK Ministry of Defence for the training it provided to a psychological operations warfare group, according to documents released by MPs.

Wylie had previously claimed in front of a British parliamentary committee that the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/i-believe-cambridge-analyticas-client-in-india-was-the-congress-says-whistleblower-126636"> Indian National Congress</a> had hired the company.

However, Cambridge Analytica (CA), which is in the midst of the Facebook data privacy storm, has come to the fore and responded to the hearing of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, saying that whistleblower Chris Wylie had "<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/chris-wylie-left-in-2014-has-no-direct-knowledge-of-companys-practices-cambridge-analytica-126812">no direct knowledge</a> of the company's work or practices since 2014."

"Chris Wylie was a part-time contractor who left Cambridge Analytica in July 2014 and has no direct knowledge of the company's work or practices since that date. He was at the company for less than a year, after which he was made the subject of restraining undertakings to prevent his misuse of the company's intellectual property while attempting to set up his own rival firm. He was not, as he claims, a founder of Cambridge Analytica," the firm, said in a statement.

"Wylie has misrepresented himself and the company to the committee, and previously to the news media. He admits himself that what he says is speculation," the statement added.

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Strategic Communications Limited states in one of the documents that it completed a project on 'honour killings and cultural change' in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan between 2009 and 2010, and goes on to explain its achievement

Cambridge Analytica has come under more scrutiny after reports of its parent company was not only involved in the Indian elections since 2003 but also worked on cases related to honor killings, reports said on Thursday. Strategic Communications Limited states in one of the documents that it completed a project on “honour killings and cultural change” in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan between 2009 and 2010, and goes on to explain its achievement. The document wrote: “Despite numerous legal instruments and policy pronouncements the custom of honour killing remains an issue in India and one that does not chime with its self-image as a modern democracy. At the level of enforcement, local police and magistrates are often sympathetic to the practice of killing." “This has made systematic enforcement of the law somewhat problematic. SCL helped its client to better understand the often convoluted and secretive culture surrounding honour killings. The caste framework is deeply embedded into Indian society, however, economic growth and the breakdown of prejudices amongst the younger generation has challenged preconceptions around traditional culture." “SCL examined the cultural and social systems that gave rise to killings, including the socio-cultural understandings of honour (maryada) that drove the murders. SCL analysed the issue via problem space mapping and on that foundation proposed a number of interventions to stop honour killings taking place.” Also see: India queries Cambridge Analytica over alleged Facebook data breach A set of documents which were released by whistleblower Christopher Wylie also included information on issues that of “comprehensive research, followed by a targeted intervention, radically changed voter behaviour in Thailand”, and “Covert sponsorship of peaceful rallies in Indonesia prevented disorder and ensured a smooth transition to civilian rule”. Documents given to the British parliamentary committee on digital, culture, media and sport, which was published on Thursday, includes texts of agreements that Strategic Communications Limited signed for elections in the US and elsewhere, reports said. It is also said that the parent company had access to secret UK information and was singled out for praise by the UK Ministry of Defence for the training it provided to a psychological operations warfare group, according to documents released by MPs. Wylie had previously claimed in front of a British parliamentary committee that the Indian National Congress had hired the company. However, Cambridge Analytica (CA), which is in the midst of the Facebook data privacy storm, has come to the fore and responded to the hearing of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, saying that whistleblower Chris Wylie had "no direct knowledge of the company's work or practices since 2014." "Chris Wylie was a part-time contractor who left Cambridge Analytica in July 2014 and has no direct knowledge of the company's work or practices since that date. He was at the company for less than a year, after which he was made the subject of restraining undertakings to prevent his misuse of the company's intellectual property while attempting to set up his own rival firm. He was not, as he claims, a founder of Cambridge Analytica," the firm, said in a statement. "Wylie has misrepresented himself and the company to the committee, and previously to the news media. He admits himself that what he says is speculation," the statement added. ×

Cambridge Analytica's parent company involved in 'honor killing' cases in India: Reports

Colombia, which will hold presidential elections in May, on Wednesday blocked access to a cell phone application it said might be connected with Cambridge Analytica, the political consultancy that has been accused of violating Facebook users' privacy to influence elections in Britain and the United States.

Lawmakers in the United States and Europe are demanding to know more about Facebook's privacy practices after a whistleblower said Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed data to target US&nbsp;and British voters in close-run elections.

Colombia's commerce regulator said in a statement it would block an application called Pig.gi, which gives users free top-ups in exchange for receiving ads and recommending their friends. The app has more than a million downloads in Colombia and Mexico combined, the regulator said.

The app, which users download via the Google Play store and sign into using their Facebook account, is administered by Farrow Colombia SAS and Farrow Mexico SAPI&nbsp;de CV, the statement said.

Attempts to reach Farrow for comment were unsuccessful. A number listed for Farrow in Colombia belongs to another company. There is no listed number for the Mexico branch of the company.

"As a preventative measure and taking into account the potential risk of a wrongful and massive illegal use of the personal data of thousands of Colombians collected via the download of the Pig.gi application, the application Pig.gi is temporarily blocked while appropriate investigations are undertaken and definitive decisions adopted," the regulator said.

The regulator did not specify what evidence it had of a connection between Cambridge Analytica and Farrow. The application will be blocked on the Google Play app store and on social media, as will websites where it can be downloaded.

The regulator added it has requested cooperation and information from its counterparts in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and Mexico.

Facebook announced a series of changes on Wednesday to give users more control over their data, after the scandal wiped more than $100 billion from its stock market value.

Cambridge Analytica has said it did not use Facebook data in US&nbsp;President Donald Trump's campaign, and that it had deleted all Facebook data it obtained from a third-party app in 2014 after learning the information did not adhere to data protection rules.

Colombia will hold presidential elections on May 27.

Colombia on Wednesday blocked access to a cell phone application saying might be connected with Cambridge Analytica

Colombia, which will hold presidential elections in May, on Wednesday blocked access to a cell phone application it said might be connected with Cambridge Analytica, the political consultancy that has been accused of violating Facebook users' privacy to influence elections in Britain and the United States. Lawmakers in the United States and Europe are demanding to know more about Facebook's privacy practices after a whistleblower said Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed data to target US and British voters in close-run elections. Colombia's commerce regulator said in a statement it would block an application called Pig.gi, which gives users free top-ups in exchange for receiving ads and recommending their friends. The app has more than a million downloads in Colombia and Mexico combined, the regulator said. The app, which users download via the Google Play store and sign into using their Facebook account, is administered by Farrow Colombia SAS and Farrow Mexico SAPI de CV, the statement said. Attempts to reach Farrow for comment were unsuccessful. A number listed for Farrow in Colombia belongs to another company. There is no listed number for the Mexico branch of the company. "As a preventative measure and taking into account the potential risk of a wrongful and massive illegal use of the personal data of thousands of Colombians collected via the download of the Pig.gi application, the application Pig.gi is temporarily blocked while appropriate investigations are undertaken and definitive decisions adopted," the regulator said. The regulator did not specify what evidence it had of a connection between Cambridge Analytica and Farrow. The application will be blocked on the Google Play app store and on social media, as will websites where it can be downloaded. The regulator added it has requested cooperation and information from its counterparts in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and Mexico. Facebook announced a series of changes on Wednesday to give users more control over their data, after the scandal wiped more than $100 billion from its stock market value. Cambridge Analytica has said it did not use Facebook data in US President Donald Trump's campaign, and that it had deleted all Facebook data it obtained from a third-party app in 2014 after learning the information did not adhere to data protection rules. Colombia will hold presidential elections on May 27.

Colombia blocks app it says possibly linked to Cambridge Analytica

Christopher Wylie, ex-employee of Cambridge Analytica(CA) who on Monday had said the London-based firm had links with India's Congress party, in a tweet revealed SCL India, the parent company of CA managed the campaigns of a number of Lok Sabha candidates.

"SCL India carried out a full political survey on behalf of a major party in the 2007 Uttar Pradesh elections," Wylie said on his Twitter page, adding that research included a "party audit and a statewide census of "politically active individuals" using in-depth interviews to assess the satisfaction levels of party workers at booth level.

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I've been getting a lot of requests from Indian journalists, so here are some of SCL's past projects in India. To the most frequently asked question - yes SCL/CA works in India and has offices there. This is what modern colonialism looks like. <a href="https://t.co/v8tOmcmy3z">pic.twitter.com/v8tOmcmy3z</a>
— Christopher Wylie (@chrisinsilico) <a href="https://twitter.com/chrisinsilico/status/978921850448371715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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In 2012, SCL India carried out a caste census in Uttar Pradesh on behalf of a national party, he said.

He further stated that in 2011, SCL India undertook a statewide research campaign of 200 million people to identify voter caste by households, which formed the "basis of further research into swing voter motivation and supporter mobilisation strategies".

The data was presented to individual candidates and tailored to their constituencies, Wylie revealed.

The Cambridge Analytica whistleblower said the firm was involved in similar work in the 2010 Bihar state elections and in Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh in 2007.

In the 2003 Rajasthan election, a major state party contacted SCL India to carry out internal party audit and look at the nature of the "voting population, particularly the behaviour of politically active individuals in the state."

SCL India has a database of over 600 districts and 7 Lakh villages, which are constantly updated, Wylie said on Twitter.

SCL India provided clients with the research to develop and disseminate the right messages, from the right sources using the right communication channel, Wylie said.

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SCL India has a database of over 600 districts and 7 Lakh villages, which are constantly updated, Wylie said on Twitter.

Christopher Wylie, ex-employee of Cambridge Analytica(CA) who on Monday had said the London-based firm had links with India's Congress party, in a tweet revealed SCL India, the parent company of CA managed the campaigns of a number of Lok Sabha candidates. "SCL India carried out a full political survey on behalf of a major party in the 2007 Uttar Pradesh elections," Wylie said on his Twitter page, adding that research included a "party audit and a statewide census of "politically active individuals" using in-depth interviews to assess the satisfaction levels of party workers at booth level. I've been getting a lot of requests from Indian journalists, so here are some of SCL's past projects in India. To the most frequently asked question - yes SCL/CA works in India and has offices there. This is what modern colonialism looks like. pic.twitter.com/v8tOmcmy3z — Christopher Wylie (@chrisinsilico) March 28, 2018 × In 2012, SCL India carried out a caste census in Uttar Pradesh on behalf of a national party, he said. He further stated that in 2011, SCL India undertook a statewide research campaign of 200 million people to identify voter caste by households, which formed the "basis of further research into swing voter motivation and supporter mobilisation strategies". The data was presented to individual candidates and tailored to their constituencies, Wylie revealed. The Cambridge Analytica whistleblower said the firm was involved in similar work in the 2010 Bihar state elections and in Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh in 2007. In the 2003 Rajasthan election, a major state party contacted SCL India to carry out internal party audit and look at the nature of the "voting population, particularly the behaviour of politically active individuals in the state." SCL India has a database of over 600 districts and 7 Lakh villages, which are constantly updated, Wylie said on Twitter. SCL India provided clients with the research to develop and disseminate the right messages, from the right sources using the right communication channel, Wylie said.

'SCL carried out survey for a major party in 2007 UP polls,' says Christopher Wylie

Cambridge Analytica (CA), which is in the midst of the Facebook data privacy storm, has come to the fore and responded to the hearing of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, saying that whistleblower Chris Wylie had "no direct knowledge of the company's work or practices since 2014."

"Chris Wylie was a part-time contractor who left Cambridge Analytica in July 2014 and has no direct knowledge of the company's work or practices since that date. He was at the company for less than a year, after which he was made the subject of restraining undertakings to prevent his misuse of the company's intellectual property while attempting to set up his own rival firm. He was not, as he claims, a founder of Cambridge Analytica," the firm, said in a statement.

"Wylie has misrepresented himself and the company to the committee, and previously to the news media. He admits himself that what he says is speculation," the statement added.

Wylie had previously claimed in front of a British parliamentary committee that the Indian National Congress had hired the company. However, the company has said that Wylie has "misrepresented himself and the company to the committee, and previously to the news media."

"He admits himself that what he says is speculation", the statement read.

Congress refuted that it had tried to sway elections with the help of Cambridge Analytica. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala referred to statements in the parts of the deposition before the House of Commons which talked about how an Indian businessman was paying Cambridge Analytica to defeat Congress.

The BJP and Congress had swapped allegations last week, each blaming the other for taking help from Cambridge Analytica to influence elections. Cambridge Analytica is accused of harvesting personal data of Facebook users to influence elections in several countries including the US presidential elections. The company, founded by Stephen K. Bannon and Robert Mercer, a wealthy Republican donor who has put at least US $15 million into it, offered tools that could identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behaviour.

The so-called psychographic modelling techniques, which were built in part with the data harvested from Facebook, underpinned the company's work for the then-Republican nominee and US President Donald Trump's campaign in 2016. On that note, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has finally decided to testify before US Congress after repeated calls to speak over data privacy.

This comes after immense pressure on Zuckerberg from lawmakers, the media and the public after the Facebook founder last week apologised for data breach and said the platform had made "mistakes". The sources believe Zuckerberg's willingness to testify will also put pressure on Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to do the same.

(With ANI inputs)

'Wylie has misrepresented himself and the company to the committee, and previously to the news media. He admits himself that what he says is speculation,' the statement added

Cambridge Analytica (CA), which is in the midst of the Facebook data privacy storm, has come to the fore and responded to the hearing of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, saying that whistleblower Chris Wylie had "no direct knowledge of the company's work or practices since 2014." "Chris Wylie was a part-time contractor who left Cambridge Analytica in July 2014 and has no direct knowledge of the company's work or practices since that date. He was at the company for less than a year, after which he was made the subject of restraining undertakings to prevent his misuse of the company's intellectual property while attempting to set up his own rival firm. He was not, as he claims, a founder of Cambridge Analytica," the firm, said in a statement. "Wylie has misrepresented himself and the company to the committee, and previously to the news media. He admits himself that what he says is speculation," the statement added. Wylie had previously claimed in front of a British parliamentary committee that the Indian National Congress had hired the company. However, the company has said that Wylie has "misrepresented himself and the company to the committee, and previously to the news media." "He admits himself that what he says is speculation", the statement read. Congress refuted that it had tried to sway elections with the help of Cambridge Analytica. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala referred to statements in the parts of the deposition before the House of Commons which talked about how an Indian businessman was paying Cambridge Analytica to defeat Congress. The BJP and Congress had swapped allegations last week, each blaming the other for taking help from Cambridge Analytica to influence elections. Cambridge Analytica is accused of harvesting personal data of Facebook users to influence elections in several countries including the US presidential elections. The company, founded by Stephen K. Bannon and Robert Mercer, a wealthy Republican donor who has put at least US $15 million into it, offered tools that could identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behaviour. The so-called psychographic modelling techniques, which were built in part with the data harvested from Facebook, underpinned the company's work for the then-Republican nominee and US President Donald Trump's campaign in 2016. On that note, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has finally decided to testify before US Congress after repeated calls to speak over data privacy. This comes after immense pressure on Zuckerberg from lawmakers, the media and the public after the Facebook founder last week apologised for data breach and said the platform had made "mistakes". The sources believe Zuckerberg's willingness to testify will also put pressure on Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to do the same. (With ANI inputs)

Chris Wylie left in 2014, has no direct knowledge of company's practices: Cambridge Analytica

Facebook, embroiled in a huge data scandal which has wiped off over $100 billion in its market value, on Wednesday announced a series of privacy changes it was making to give users more control over their data.

Ahead of the entry into force of a landmark European Union data protection law in May, the social network will add a new "Privacy Shortcuts" menu which will let users review what they've shared and delete it, as well as features enabling them to download their data and move it to another service.

"The last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies and to help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data," Erin Egan, VP and Chief Privacy Officer, and Ashlie Beringer, VP and Deputy General Counsel at Facebook, wrote in a blog post.

"So in addition to Mark's announcements last week – cracking down on abuse of the Facebook platform, strengthening our policies, and making it easier for people to revoke apps' ability to use your data – we're taking additional steps in the coming weeks to put people in more control over their privacy."rol over their privacy."

Facebook, embroiled in a huge data scandal which has wiped off over $100 billion in its market value, on Wednesday announced a series of privacy changes it was making to give users more control over their data

Facebook, embroiled in a huge data scandal which has wiped off over $100 billion in its market value, on Wednesday announced a series of privacy changes it was making to give users more control over their data. Ahead of the entry into force of a landmark European Union data protection law in May, the social network will add a new "Privacy Shortcuts" menu which will let users review what they've shared and delete it, as well as features enabling them to download their data and move it to another service. "The last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies and to help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data," Erin Egan, VP and Chief Privacy Officer, and Ashlie Beringer, VP and Deputy General Counsel at Facebook, wrote in a blog post. "So in addition to Mark's announcements last week – cracking down on abuse of the Facebook platform, strengthening our policies, and making it easier for people to revoke apps' ability to use your data – we're taking additional steps in the coming weeks to put people in more control over their privacy."rol over their privacy."

Facebook to introduce new privacy controls in wake of data scandal

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie at a public hearing before the British Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said India's Congress party was one of its clients.

"When you look at Facebook's biggest market, India is the top in terms of numbers of users. Obviously, that's a country which is rife with political discord and opportunities for destabilisation," said Labour MP Paul Farrelly, member of the parliamentary committee, during his questioning.

"I know that they have done all kinds of projects. I don't remember a national project but I know regionally. India's so big that one state can be as big as Britain," the 28-year-old said.

"I believe their client in India was the Congress," Wylie told the Parliamentary committee. "They do have offices there, they do have a staff there," he added.

The ruling BJP was quick to hit out at Congress after Wylie's deposition, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that Congress president "Rahul Gandhi has been exposed." "Congress lied to India," Ravi Shankar Prasad said. "Rahul Gandhi must apologise," he added.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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Rahul Gandhi needs to apologise to the nation for trying to subvert India’s election process using the Brahmastra of Cambridge Analytica. The nation demands an answer!
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) <a href="https://twitter.com/rsprasad/status/978643143779209216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Cambridge Analytica is in the dock for data theft and trying to manipulate voters using unlawful means. It has been established that Congress was a client of Cambridge Analytica. Congress Party needs to apologise to the nation for data theft and trying to manipulate voters.
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) <a href="https://twitter.com/rsprasad/status/978642633919639552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower Christopher Wylie has accepted before British Parliamentary committee that Cambridge Analytica worked for the Congress Party.This vindicates what we have been saying from day one. Rahul Gandhi has been trying to divert attention all these while
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) <a href="https://twitter.com/rsprasad/status/978641923060543489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Earlier during the deposition before the committee, Wylie who worked for Cambridge Analytica earlier, declared that there is "tangible proof" that a Canada-based firm AIQ built the Ripon software to utilise algorithms from the Facebook data during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Ripon helped campaign managers to access voter database, target specific voters, conduct canvassing, manage fundraising and carry out surveys.

''It is categorically untrue, categorically untrue, that Cambridge Analytica has never used Facebook data," Wylie said, adding,"Facebook data and the acquisition using Aleksandr Kogan's (Cambridge University researcher) app was the foundational data set of the company. That is how the algorithms were developed. They spent a million dollars at least on that acquisition project." Watch the video here:&nbsp;

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Wylie has previously disclosed how users’ data from Facebook was used by Cambridge Analytica to help elect US President Donald Trump

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie at a public hearing before the British Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said India's Congress party was one of its clients. "When you look at Facebook's biggest market, India is the top in terms of numbers of users. Obviously, that's a country which is rife with political discord and opportunities for destabilisation," said Labour MP Paul Farrelly, member of the parliamentary committee, during his questioning. "I know that they have done all kinds of projects. I don't remember a national project but I know regionally. India's so big that one state can be as big as Britain," the 28-year-old said. "I believe their client in India was the Congress," Wylie told the Parliamentary committee. "They do have offices there, they do have a staff there," he added. The ruling BJP was quick to hit out at Congress after Wylie's deposition, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that Congress president "Rahul Gandhi has been exposed." "Congress lied to India," Ravi Shankar Prasad said. "Rahul Gandhi must apologise," he added. Rahul Gandhi needs to apologise to the nation for trying to subvert India’s election process using the Brahmastra of Cambridge Analytica. The nation demands an answer! — Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) March 27, 2018 × Cambridge Analytica is in the dock for data theft and trying to manipulate voters using unlawful means. It has been established that Congress was a client of Cambridge Analytica. Congress Party needs to apologise to the nation for data theft and trying to manipulate voters. — Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) March 27, 2018 × Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower Christopher Wylie has accepted before British Parliamentary committee that Cambridge Analytica worked for the Congress Party.This vindicates what we have been saying from day one. Rahul Gandhi has been trying to divert attention all these while — Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) March 27, 2018 × Earlier during the deposition before the committee, Wylie who worked for Cambridge Analytica earlier, declared that there is "tangible proof" that a Canada-based firm AIQ built the Ripon software to utilise algorithms from the Facebook data during the 2016 presidential campaign. Ripon helped campaign managers to access voter database, target specific voters, conduct canvassing, manage fundraising and carry out surveys. ''It is categorically untrue, categorically untrue, that Cambridge Analytica has never used Facebook data," Wylie said, adding,"Facebook data and the acquisition using Aleksandr Kogan's (Cambridge University researcher) app was the foundational data set of the company. That is how the algorithms were developed. They spent a million dollars at least on that acquisition project." Watch the video here: ×

'I believe Cambridge Analytica's client in India was the Congress,' says whistleblower

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie at a public hearing told the British Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports Committee that a Canadian company AggregateIQ worked on software called Ripon which was used to identify Republican voters ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.&nbsp;

"There's no tangible proof in the public domain that AIQ actually built Ripon, which is the software that utilised the algorithms from the Facebook data," Wylie told the committee.

Ripon, the town in which the Republican Party was founded in 1854, was the name allegedly given to a tool that let a campaign manage its voter database, target specific voters, conduct canvassing, manage fundraising and carry out surveys.

Wylie had earlier revealed how Facebook data was used by a British firm Cambridge Analytica in helping the Trump presidential campaign in 2016.

Meanwhile, a London law firm Bindmans said electoral offences were committed during the Brexit campaign in breach of UK vote rules.

"There is a prima facie case that the following electoral offences were committed by Vote Leave in the EU referendum campaign," Bindmans said.

Vote Leave ultimately declared campaign costs of just over £6.7 million - under the £7 million legal limit - of which nearly £2.7 million was spent on services by AIQ.

'There's no tangible proof in the public domain that AIQ actually built Ripon, which is the software that utilised the algorithms from the Facebook data,' Wylie told the committee.

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie at a public hearing told the British Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports Committee that a Canadian company AggregateIQ worked on software called Ripon which was used to identify Republican voters ahead of the 2016 US presidential election. "There's no tangible proof in the public domain that AIQ actually built Ripon, which is the software that utilised the algorithms from the Facebook data," Wylie told the committee. Ripon, the town in which the Republican Party was founded in 1854, was the name allegedly given to a tool that let a campaign manage its voter database, target specific voters, conduct canvassing, manage fundraising and carry out surveys. Wylie had earlier revealed how Facebook data was used by a British firm Cambridge Analytica in helping the Trump presidential campaign in 2016. Meanwhile, a London law firm Bindmans said electoral offences were committed during the Brexit campaign in breach of UK vote rules. "There is a prima facie case that the following electoral offences were committed by Vote Leave in the EU referendum campaign," Bindmans said. Vote Leave ultimately declared campaign costs of just over £6.7 million - under the £7 million legal limit - of which nearly £2.7 million was spent on services by AIQ.

AIQ built Ripon to utilise Facebook data: Cambridge Analytica whistleblower

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg will not answer questions from British lawmakers over how millions of users' data got into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, according to a letter sent by the social network seen by Reuters.

Zuckerberg will instead send his Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer or Chief Product Officer Chris Cox to appear before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee.

The committee, which had asked for Zuckerberg or someone senior from Facebook to appear, was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters. Zuckerberg apologized last week for the mistakes Facebook had made and promised tougher steps to restrict developers' access to such information in a scandal which has rocked the social media giant on both sides of the Atlantic.

The firm's Head of UK Public Policy told lawmakers that Schroepfer or Cox were better placed to answer questions.

"Facebook fully recognizes the level of public and Parliamentary interest in these issues and support your belief that these issues must be addressed at the most senior levels of the company by those in an authoritative position," wrote Rebecca Stimson. "As such Mr Zuckerberg has personally asked one of his deputies to make themselves available to give evidence in person to the Committee."

The firm's Head of UK Public Policy told lawmakers that Schroepfer or Cox were better placed to answer questions

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg will not answer questions from British lawmakers over how millions of users' data got into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, according to a letter sent by the social network seen by Reuters. Zuckerberg will instead send his Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer or Chief Product Officer Chris Cox to appear before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee. The committee, which had asked for Zuckerberg or someone senior from Facebook to appear, was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters. Zuckerberg apologized last week for the mistakes Facebook had made and promised tougher steps to restrict developers' access to such information in a scandal which has rocked the social media giant on both sides of the Atlantic. The firm's Head of UK Public Policy told lawmakers that Schroepfer or Cox were better placed to answer questions. "Facebook fully recognizes the level of public and Parliamentary interest in these issues and support your belief that these issues must be addressed at the most senior levels of the company by those in an authoritative position," wrote Rebecca Stimson. "As such Mr Zuckerberg has personally asked one of his deputies to make themselves available to give evidence in person to the Committee."

Facebook chief Zuckerberg will not answer UK lawmakers' questions over data leak

Almost all British national newspapers yesterday carried a full-page apology from Facebook in the wake of the data privacy scandal. The apology was signed by Mark Zuckerberg who stated that "This was a &nbsp;breach of trust, I am sorry we didn't do more at the time. We are now taking steps to make sure that this doesn't happen again.&nbsp;

In the apology,&nbsp;Zuckerberg claimed that a quiz, developed by a university researcher, "leaked Facebook data of millions of people in 2014".

Zuckerberg hinted an extensive system and regulatory overhaul that the company will be undertaking to fix the existing loopholes and avert similar incidents from taking place.

However, there was no mention of the UK-based data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica, the emerges at the centre of the Facebook data breach scandal.&nbsp;

"We have already stopped apps like this from getting so much information. Now we're limiting the data apps get when you sign in using Facebook," the ad read.

Zuckerberg also announced that now users will be equipped with the power to review all the apps that have access to their personal information -- "so you can shut off the ones you don't want any more".&nbsp;

Zuckerberg-led Facebook has lost over $50 billion in market value since the allegations surfaced.

"Thank you for believing in this community. I promise to do better for you," he wrote.

(With inputs from agencies)

'I promise to do better for you,' Zuckerberg noted

Almost all British national newspapers yesterday carried a full-page apology from Facebook in the wake of the data privacy scandal. The apology was signed by Mark Zuckerberg who stated that "This was a breach of trust, I am sorry we didn't do more at the time. We are now taking steps to make sure that this doesn't happen again. In the apology, Zuckerberg claimed that a quiz, developed by a university researcher, "leaked Facebook data of millions of people in 2014". Zuckerberg hinted an extensive system and regulatory overhaul that the company will be undertaking to fix the existing loopholes and avert similar incidents from taking place. However, there was no mention of the UK-based data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica, the emerges at the centre of the Facebook data breach scandal. "We have already stopped apps like this from getting so much information. Now we're limiting the data apps get when you sign in using Facebook," the ad read. Zuckerberg also announced that now users will be equipped with the power to review all the apps that have access to their personal information -- "so you can shut off the ones you don't want any more". Zuckerberg-led Facebook has lost over $50 billion in market value since the allegations surfaced. "Thank you for believing in this community. I promise to do better for you," he wrote. (With inputs from agencies)

Leading British dailies carry Mark Zuckerberg's full-page apology

British regulators finished searching the offices of Cambridge Analytica, the firm at the centre of a Facebook data scandal, before dawn today and said they would examine the evidence before considering &quot;next steps&quot;.

After receiving a warrant from a judge, about 18 enforcement agents from the Information Commissioner&#39;s Office entered the company&#39;s London offices at around 8:00 pm (local time) yesterday.

&quot;Our investigators left the premises at about 03:00 am (local time),&quot; a spokesman for the data watchdog said today.

&quot;We will now need to assess and consider the evidence before deciding the next steps and coming to any conclusions.

&quot;This is one part of a larger investigation by the ICO into the use of personal data and analytics by political campaigns, parties, social media companies and other commercial actors.&quot;

Cambridge Analytica, which worked on US President Donald Trump&#39;s election campaign, has been accused of illegally mining tens of millions of users&#39; Facebook data and using it to target potential voters.

The row has sparked a major crisis for Facebook, prompting investigations on both sides of the Atlantic and sending its share price plunging amid fears of additional regulation that could affect its business model.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has issued a public apology, admitting there had been a &quot;major breach of trust&quot;.

Cambridge Analytica received data harvested in an app developed by an independent University of Cambridge academic, which was downloaded by around 270,000 people but scooped up information on up to 50 million people.

It denies the data was used in the Trump campaign, and Facebook says it was used without its knowledge.

Questions are also being raised about Cambridge Analytica&#39;s role in Britain&#39;s vote to leave the EU in 2016. It denies working on the campaign, but a former employee says it conducted data research for a key player, Leave.EU.

Cambridge Analytica, which worked on US President Donald Trump's election campaign, has been accused of illegally mining tens of millions of users' Facebook data and using it to target potential voters.

British regulators finished searching the offices of Cambridge Analytica, the firm at the centre of a Facebook data scandal, before dawn today and said they would examine the evidence before considering "next steps". After receiving a warrant from a judge, about 18 enforcement agents from the Information Commissioner's Office entered the company's London offices at around 8:00 pm (local time) yesterday. "Our investigators left the premises at about 03:00 am (local time)," a spokesman for the data watchdog said today. "We will now need to assess and consider the evidence before deciding the next steps and coming to any conclusions. "This is one part of a larger investigation by the ICO into the use of personal data and analytics by political campaigns, parties, social media companies and other commercial actors." Cambridge Analytica, which worked on US President Donald Trump's election campaign, has been accused of illegally mining tens of millions of users' Facebook data and using it to target potential voters. The row has sparked a major crisis for Facebook, prompting investigations on both sides of the Atlantic and sending its share price plunging amid fears of additional regulation that could affect its business model. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has issued a public apology, admitting there had been a "major breach of trust". Cambridge Analytica received data harvested in an app developed by an independent University of Cambridge academic, which was downloaded by around 270,000 people but scooped up information on up to 50 million people. It denies the data was used in the Trump campaign, and Facebook says it was used without its knowledge. Questions are also being raised about Cambridge Analytica's role in Britain's vote to leave the EU in 2016. It denies working on the campaign, but a former employee says it conducted data research for a key player, Leave.EU.

UK regulators finish searching Cambridge Analytica offices, to examine evidence before 'next steps'

India has set a March 31 deadline for London-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica to respond to a query on whether it was engaged to improperly harvest Facebook data on Indian citizens, the information technology ministry said.

India&#39;s information technology minister last week warned against any abuse of social media in elections, following reports that the analytics firm improperly accessed information on millions of Facebook users to target US&nbsp;voters.

Friday&#39;s notice to the firm followed local media reports that Indian political parties had used the data analytics firm during elections.

In a notice that went out on Friday, the entity was asked to send in its response on six specific queries by March 31, failing which it may face legal action from the Ministry of Information and Technology.&nbsp;The questions in the notice are as follows:&nbsp; 
 
1. Whether they have been engaged in any assignment to utilize data of Indians from the above-cited breach?&nbsp; 
 
2. Who are the entities that have engaged them for the above?&nbsp; 
 
3. How did they come to be in possession of such data?&nbsp;

4. Was consent taken from the individuals?&nbsp; 
 
5. How was such data collected used?&nbsp; 
 
6. Was there any profiling done on the basis of such data?

Earlier in the day, CERT issued an advisory asking Facebook users not to share their voting preferences on social media networking site besides following other general safeguards.&nbsp;

India is preparing for a general election in 2019 and several states will elect new assemblies this year and the next.

&quot;The fairness of Indian democracy and electoral process is a matter of pride and any attempt to influence the sanctity of the electoral franchise through dubious and questionable means is unacceptable,&quot; the ministry said in a statement.

Attempts by Reuters to seek comment from the firm, via social media, went unanswered.

The government was deeply concerned with allegations that data could have been used to influence people&#39;s behaviour, the ministry said.

The ministry has threatened to take legal action against companies and individuals engaging in any unauthorized use of such data.

(With inputs from Reuters)

India's information technology minister last week warned against any abuse of social media in elections, following reports that the analytics firm improperly accessed information on millions of Facebook users to target US voters

India has set a March 31 deadline for London-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica to respond to a query on whether it was engaged to improperly harvest Facebook data on Indian citizens, the information technology ministry said. India's information technology minister last week warned against any abuse of social media in elections, following reports that the analytics firm improperly accessed information on millions of Facebook users to target US voters. Friday's notice to the firm followed local media reports that Indian political parties had used the data analytics firm during elections. In a notice that went out on Friday, the entity was asked to send in its response on six specific queries by March 31, failing which it may face legal action from the Ministry of Information and Technology. The questions in the notice are as follows: 1. Whether they have been engaged in any assignment to utilize data of Indians from the above-cited breach? 2. Who are the entities that have engaged them for the above? 3. How did they come to be in possession of such data? 4. Was consent taken from the individuals? 5. How was such data collected used? 6. Was there any profiling done on the basis of such data? Earlier in the day, CERT issued an advisory asking Facebook users not to share their voting preferences on social media networking site besides following other general safeguards. India is preparing for a general election in 2019 and several states will elect new assemblies this year and the next. "The fairness of Indian democracy and electoral process is a matter of pride and any attempt to influence the sanctity of the electoral franchise through dubious and questionable means is unacceptable," the ministry said in a statement. Attempts by Reuters to seek comment from the firm, via social media, went unanswered. The government was deeply concerned with allegations that data could have been used to influence people's behaviour, the ministry said. The ministry has threatened to take legal action against companies and individuals engaging in any unauthorized use of such data. (With inputs from Reuters)

India queries Cambridge Analytica over alleged Facebook data breach

British regulators on Friday began searching the London offices of Cambridge Analytica (CA),&nbsp;the scandal-hit communications firm at the heart of the Facebook data scandal, shortly after a judge approved a search warrant.

Around 18 enforcement agents from the office of Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham entered the company&#39;s London headquarters at around 8:00pm (2000 GMT) to execute the warrant.

The High Court granted the raid request less than an hour earlier, as Denham investigates claims that Cambridge Analytica may have illegally harvested Facebook data for political ends.

A full explanation of the legal ruling by Judge Anthony James Leonard will be issued on Tuesday, according to the court.

&quot;We&#39;re pleased with the decision of the judge,&quot; Denham&#39;s office said on Twitter.&nbsp;

&quot;This is just one part of a larger investigation into the use of personal data and analytics for political purposes,&quot; it added in a statement.&nbsp;

&quot;As you will expect, we will now need to collect, assess and consider the evidence before coming to any conclusions.&quot;

The data watchdog&#39;s probe comes amid whistleblower accusations that CA, hired by Donald Trump during his primary campaign, illegally mined tens of millions of users&#39; Facebook data and then used it to target potential voters.

Fresh allegations also emerged Friday night about the firm&#39;s involvement in the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign.

Brittany Kaiser, CA&#39;s business development director until two weeks ago, revealed it conducted data research for Leave.EU, one of the leading campaign groups, via the UK Independence Party (UKIP), according to The Guardian.

&#39;I WAS LYING&#39; 
Kaiser, 30, told the newspaper she felt the company&#39;s repeated public denials it ever worked on the poll misled British lawmakers and the public.

&quot;In my opinion, I was lying,&quot; she said. &quot;In my opinion I felt like we should say, &#39;this is exactly what we did.&#39;&quot;

CA&#39;s suspended chief executive Alexander Nix told MPs last month: &quot;We did not work for Leave.EU. We have not undertaken any paid or unpaid work for them, OK?&quot;

Nix was suspended this week following the Facebook revelations and a further media sting in which he boasts about entrapping politicians and secretly operating in elections around the world through shadowy front companies.

He has already been called to reappear before British lawmakers to explain &quot;inconsistencies&quot; in past testimony about the firm&#39;s use of the data. 
&nbsp;

Meanwhile Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been forced to issue a statement outlining his firm&#39;s role in the scandal and apologised Wednesday to its billions of users for the breach.

The company has seen its stock market value plunge by around $75 million amid the crisis, as shares closed the week down 13 percent -- their worst seven days since July 2012.

Cambridge Analytica denies any wrongdoing, and said Friday it was undertaking an independent third-party audit to verify that it no longer holds any of the mined data.

&quot;As anyone who is familiar with our staff and work can testify, we in no way resemble the politically-motivated and unethical company that some have sought to portray,&quot; acting CEO Alexander Tayler said in a statement.&nbsp;

He apologised for the firm&#39;s involvement, but said it had licensed the data from a research company, led by an academic, that &quot;had not received consent from most respondents&quot;.

&quot;The company (CA) believed that the data had been obtained in line with Facebook&#39;s terms of service and data protection laws,&quot; Tayler said.

NEW REVIEW 

Aleksandr Kogan, a University of Cambridge psychologist, created a personality prediction app that harvested the data of 270,000 people who downloaded it -- as well as scooping up the information of their friends.

That was possible under Facebook&#39;s rules at the time, and Kogan this week claimed he was being unfairly blamed.

&quot;I&#39;m being basically used as a scapegoat by both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica,&quot; he said in interviews Wednesday.

&quot;We were assured by Cambridge Analytica that everything was perfectly legal and within the terms of service&quot; of Facebook, he added.

However, Cambridge University announced Friday it was &quot;undertaking a wide-ranging review&quot; of the episode and had written to Facebook &quot;to request all relevant evidence in their possession&quot;.

&quot;Should anything emerge from this review, or from our request to Facebook, the University will take any action necessary in accordance with our policies and procedures,&quot; it said in a statement.

The High Court granted the raid request less than an hour earlier, as Denham investigates claims that Cambridge Analytica may have illegally harvested Facebook data for political ends.

British regulators on Friday began searching the London offices of Cambridge Analytica (CA), the scandal-hit communications firm at the heart of the Facebook data scandal, shortly after a judge approved a search warrant. Around 18 enforcement agents from the office of Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham entered the company's London headquarters at around 8:00pm (2000 GMT) to execute the warrant. The High Court granted the raid request less than an hour earlier, as Denham investigates claims that Cambridge Analytica may have illegally harvested Facebook data for political ends. A full explanation of the legal ruling by Judge Anthony James Leonard will be issued on Tuesday, according to the court. "We're pleased with the decision of the judge," Denham's office said on Twitter. "This is just one part of a larger investigation into the use of personal data and analytics for political purposes," it added in a statement. "As you will expect, we will now need to collect, assess and consider the evidence before coming to any conclusions." The data watchdog's probe comes amid whistleblower accusations that CA, hired by Donald Trump during his primary campaign, illegally mined tens of millions of users' Facebook data and then used it to target potential voters. Fresh allegations also emerged Friday night about the firm's involvement in the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign. Brittany Kaiser, CA's business development director until two weeks ago, revealed it conducted data research for Leave.EU, one of the leading campaign groups, via the UK Independence Party (UKIP), according to The Guardian. 'I WAS LYING' Kaiser, 30, told the newspaper she felt the company's repeated public denials it ever worked on the poll misled British lawmakers and the public. "In my opinion, I was lying," she said. "In my opinion I felt like we should say, 'this is exactly what we did.'" CA's suspended chief executive Alexander Nix told MPs last month: "We did not work for Leave.EU. We have not undertaken any paid or unpaid work for them, OK?" Nix was suspended this week following the Facebook revelations and a further media sting in which he boasts about entrapping politicians and secretly operating in elections around the world through shadowy front companies. He has already been called to reappear before British lawmakers to explain "inconsistencies" in past testimony about the firm's use of the data. Meanwhile Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been forced to issue a statement outlining his firm's role in the scandal and apologised Wednesday to its billions of users for the breach. The company has seen its stock market value plunge by around $75 million amid the crisis, as shares closed the week down 13 percent -- their worst seven days since July 2012. Cambridge Analytica denies any wrongdoing, and said Friday it was undertaking an independent third-party audit to verify that it no longer holds any of the mined data. "As anyone who is familiar with our staff and work can testify, we in no way resemble the politically-motivated and unethical company that some have sought to portray," acting CEO Alexander Tayler said in a statement. He apologised for the firm's involvement, but said it had licensed the data from a research company, led by an academic, that "had not received consent from most respondents". "The company (CA) believed that the data had been obtained in line with Facebook's terms of service and data protection laws," Tayler said. NEW REVIEW Aleksandr Kogan, a University of Cambridge psychologist, created a personality prediction app that harvested the data of 270,000 people who downloaded it -- as well as scooping up the information of their friends. That was possible under Facebook's rules at the time, and Kogan this week claimed he was being unfairly blamed. "I'm being basically used as a scapegoat by both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica," he said in interviews Wednesday. "We were assured by Cambridge Analytica that everything was perfectly legal and within the terms of service" of Facebook, he added. However, Cambridge University announced Friday it was "undertaking a wide-ranging review" of the episode and had written to Facebook "to request all relevant evidence in their possession". "Should anything emerge from this review, or from our request to Facebook, the University will take any action necessary in accordance with our policies and procedures," it said in a statement.

UK regulators search Cambridge Analytica offices

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