UK parliamentary committee lashes out at Facebook for behaving like 'digital gangsters'
Facebook, the social media giant was lashed out by the UK parliamentary committee for behaving like "digital gangsters" in the online world. The committee concluded that Facebook intentionally and knowingly violated both data privacy and anti-competition laws.
the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee of the UK Parliament after an 18-month investigation into disinformation and "fake news" set out a final report calling for stricter regulation to make Facebook end spread disinformation on its platform.
Damian Collins, Chair of the DCMS Committee, said in a statement, "Democracy is at risk from the malicious and relentless targeting of citizens with disinformation and personalised 'dark adverts' from unidentifiable sources, delivered through the major social media platforms we use everyday".
According to the investigation done Facebook was willing to charge high prices in advertising to some developers, for the exchange of data. Facebook was also starving some developers - such as Six4Three - of that data, contributing to them losing their business.
Six4Three that is now-defunct alleged that Facebook collected information on users and their friends through its apps.
The report also went on to name Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg who refused the summons to appear before the committee three times.
The report said, "By choosing not to appear before the Committee and by choosing not to respond personally to any of our invitations, Mark Zuckerberg has shown contempt towards both the UK Parliament and the 'International Grand Committee', involving members from nine legislatures from around the world".
"Mark Zuckerberg continually fails to show the levels of leadership and personal responsibility that should be expected from someone who sits at the top of one of the world's biggest companies," Collins said.
After the Cambridge Analytica data-harvesting scandal became public, the inquiry went on to intensify.
In the 108-page report, the UK lawmakers accused Facebook of continuing to prioritise shareholders' profits over users' privacy rights.
"We are open to meaningful regulation and support the committee's recommendation for electoral law reform," Karim Palant, Facebook's UK public policy manager, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
(With IANS inputs)
