… Amazon and Google, the leading sellers of such devices, say the assistants record and process audio only after users trigger them by pushing a button or uttering a phrase like “Hey, Alexa” or “O.K., Google.” But each company has filed patent applications, many of them still under consideration, that […] Read more »
How people feel about what companies do with their data is just as important as what they know about it
It’s been an exciting week for those of us interested in what companies do with people’s data. The revelation that Cambridge Analytica got its hands on 50 million people’s Facebook data and that Facebook, at least until 2015, made this possible, enabling apps to access not only user data but […] Read more »
How Trump Consultants Exploited the Facebook Data of Millions
As the upstart voter-profiling company Cambridge Analytica prepared to wade into the 2014 American midterm elections, it had a problem. The firm had secured a $15 million investment from Robert Mercer, the wealthy Republican donor, and wooed his political adviser, Stephen K. Bannon, with the promise of tools that could […] Read more »
Facebook bans Trump campaign’s data analytics firm for taking user data
Facebook is suspending the Trump-affiliated data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, after learning that it failed to delete data that it had taken inappropriately from users of the social network, Facebook said late Friday. … Cambridge Analytica, a firm that specializes in using online data to create voter personality profiles in […] Read more »
Public Confidence in Mueller’s Investigation Remains Steady
The public continues to express at least some confidence that Robert Mueller will conduct a fair investigation into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election. A majority of Americans (61%) say they are very or somewhat confident Mueller will conduct a fair investigation; these views have changed only modestly since December. […] Read more »
Most Americans concerned about Russian interference in midterm elections
More than six in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about potential Russian interference in the 2018 elections. However, this concern breaks down along party lines. While 64 percent of Democrats say they are very concerned, only 15 percent of Republicans feel this way. Most independents are at least […] Read more »