The world erupted in righteous indignation after it was revealed that Facebook had inadvertently allowed a researcher to harvest personally identifying information belonging to millions of users, a large percentage of whom were unknowingly affected, courtesy of loopholes in the enforcement of policies and regulation of Mark Zuckerberg’s most…
Cambridge Analytica
State Sovereignty in the Internet age
If we had to distill part of what defines a nation's sovereignty, it would possibly come down to four key factors. Namely: Energy independence Financial independence Military independence Food independence I am aware that there are other factors that determine whether a state is sovereign or not, but, for the…
Amenda Makhetha explains how Facebook's letter to South Africa's Information Regulator raises some issues
It has emerged that after it was revealed that some South Africans could have possibly been victims of Cambridge Analytica harvesting Facebook users' data, South Africa's Information Regulator sent a letter to Facebook Africa's head office in Johannesburg requesting clarity. Several days after receiving the letter, Facebook responded to South…
Facebook's letter to South Africa's Information Regulator
Information Regulator (South Africa) 316 Thabo Sehume Street Pretoria For the attention of: Adv. P Tlakula 18 April 2018 Dear Adv. P Tlakula RE: Reported misuse of Facebook user data by Cambridge Analytica I am writing on behalf of Facebook Ireland Limited (“Facebook Ireland”). Representatives of Facebook South Africa passed…
Everything you need to know about Facebook data harvesting
Facebook makes most of its money from advertising, and – as the Cambridge Analytica scandal continues to haunt Mark Zuckerberg’s company – users are demanding to know how their data is being wrangled and harvested. But while concern about Facebook user privacy has spiked, it’s been clear since Facebook’s…
Facebook knows about you even if you’re not registered on it
Facebook’s founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg faced two days of grilling before US politicians this week, following concerns over how his company deals with people’s data. But the data Facebook has on people who are not signed up to the social media giant also came under scrutiny.…
No electronic voting for Nigeria's 2019 elections
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairperson of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has stated that there will be no electronic voting in the western Afrikan country's upcoming 2019 general elections. Professor Yakubu said this at the three-day International Conference of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in West and Southern African countries in…