Facebook Sues Rankwave For Data Misuse

Facebook is suing a South Korean firm it accuses of unlawfully using data to sell marketing and advertising. The social network is asking a judge to force Rankwave to allow it to audit the firm’s activities to see if user data was obtained and potentially sold.

The network said the move would "send a message to developers that Facebook is serious about enforcing our policies".

"Facebook was investigating Rankwave’s data practices in relation to its advertising and marketing services," said Jessica Romero, Facebook's director of platform enforcement.

"Rankwave failed to co-operate with our efforts to verify their compliance with our policies, which we require of all developers using our platform."

A similar abuse of facebook user data by Cambridge Analytica resulted in that business closing down following an investigation by the UK Information Commissioner.

Tracking Users' Posts

According to court documents filed in California on Friday 10th May, Facebook is accusing Rankwave of using at least 30 different apps to "track and analyse" comments and likes on Facebook pages. Rankwave also had a consumer app that, after gaining the user's consent, would track the popularity of that user's posts. The app would calculate a "social influence score", Facebook said. However, the social network said it had information that since 2014, Rankwave had been using data gathered by its apps "for its own business purposes, which include providing consulting services to advertisers and marketing companies".

In its lawsuit, Facebook accuses Rankwave of ignoring repeated requests to open itself up to an audit and provide evidence relating to data it had allegedly obtained. Facebook wants a judge to force Rankwave to take those steps, as well as pay an unspecified amount in damages. Facebook said the data company had harmed its "reputation" and "public trust".

Facebook said it began investigating Rankwave, which has remained active on the network until last month, in June 2018, According to the BBC.

Need New Internet Rules

The case will probably draw comparisons with Cambridge Analytica, the UK-based data analytics firm that abused private Facebook data in order to inform political campaigning efforts. The discovery of that incident plunged Facebook into a crisis.

On Friday, Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss potential regulation of social networks. However, he did not address calls from fellow Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes that the company was too powerful and should be broken up.

BBC 1:            BBC 2

You Might Also Read: 

Zuckerberg Has Failed:


 

« Hackers Steal Bitcoins Worth $41m
Google Plan To Use Drone Delivery In Australia »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

Watch this webinar to hear security experts from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SANS break down the myths and realities of what an NGFW is, how to use one, and what it can do for your security posture.

Syxsense

Syxsense

Syxsense brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams.

Jooble

Jooble

Jooble is a job search aggregator operating in 71 countries worldwide. We simplify the job search process by displaying active job ads from major job boards and career sites across the internet.

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

CFR is dedicated to better understanding the world and the foreign policy choices facing the USA and other countries. Cyber security is covered within the CFR topic areas.

Latham & Watkins LLP

Latham & Watkins LLP

Latham & Watkins is an international law firm. Practice areas include Data Privacy, Security and Cybercrime.

Barracuda

Barracuda

Barracuda provides a comprehensive cybersecurity platform to protect organizations from all major attack vectors that are present in today’s complex threats.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis Risk Solutions provides technology solutions for Anti-Money Laundering, Fraud Mitigation, Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Identity Management, Tracing and Investigation.

Cyber Senate

Cyber Senate

Cyber Senate is dedicated to bringing Operators of Essential Services together with global subject matter experts to address the challenges of evolving cyber threats to critical infrastructure.

Thinklogical

Thinklogical

Thinklogical manufactures secure, KVM, video, audio, and computer peripheral signal switching solutions for defence C4ISR applications.

Assured Information Security (AIS)

Assured Information Security (AIS)

AIS is committed to providing our customers with critical information security products, services, and training. We support diverse needs throughout business and industry.

Hornetsecurity

Hornetsecurity

Meet Hornetsecurity – Leading Cloud Email Security Provider. We protect global organizations so you can focus on what you do best.

Barbara IoT

Barbara IoT

Barbara is an industrial device platform specifically designed for IoT deployments.

Bionic

Bionic

Bionic is an agentless way to get control over your increasingly complex applications so you can manage, operate, and secure them faster and more efficiently.

Alias

Alias

Alias (formerly Alias Forensics) provide penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, incident response and security consulting services.

NetBlocks

NetBlocks

NetBlocks is a global internet monitor working at the intersection of digital rights, cyber-security and internet governance.

DEKRA

DEKRA

DEKRA’s promise is to ensure the safety of human interaction with technology and the environment.

Forward Global

Forward Global

Forward Global designs and delivers services and technologies to manage digital, economic, and information risks.

Vector Choice Technologies

Vector Choice Technologies

Vector Choice Technology Solutions has a long standing reputation in cyber security consulting since 2008.

BreachBits

BreachBits

BreachBits are on a mission to deliver world-class cyber risk insights continuously at scale in situations where knowing the true risk truly matters.