Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised on Tuesday for not doing enough to prevent the misuse of users’ data.
He said it had become clear that the company had not done enough to prevent its tools from being used to promote fake news, allow foreign meddling in elections, and from outside developers misusing personal information.
“We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility,” said Mr Zuckerberg in prepared remarks to senior European Union politicians. “That was a mistake and I am sorry for it.”
Politicians said it was his 15th apology in a decade for Facebook failings. They called on Mr Zuckerberg to reveal all the data the company held about potential meddling in elections and questioned whether it should be broken up because of its status as a monopoly with 2.2 billion users.
Mr Zuckerberg did not respond to a number of the questions but accepted that authorities would put fresh controls on powerful social media sites. “I don’t think the question is whether or not there should be regulation. I think the question is what is the right regulation,” he said. “The important thing is to get this right.”
The 90-minute meeting ended with politicians complaining that Mr Zuckerberg had failed to answer all of their questions.
After they spent two-thirds of the time posing questions, Mr Zuckerberg had barely 25 minutes left to answer them before calling an end to the meeting. A Facebook spokesperson said Mr Zuckerberg's schedule was "very tight", although he was not scheduled for other meetings in Brussels.
The Facebook chief travelled to France on Wednesday to meet with President Emmanuel Macron at a conference in Paris, where the heads of companies including Microsoft, IBM and Uber were invited to discuss how technology can be used for the common good.
Mr Zuckerberg’s appearance in Brussels followed a 10-hour session before US congressional committees last month over the misuse of data scandal involving UK-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica (CA).
He has refused to appear before British politicians to answer questions about his company’s relationship with CA, which was accused of trying to obtain Facebook user data to influence Donald Trump’s campaigning strategy for the 2016 United States presidential election.
Mr Zuckerberg’s decision to snub the UK’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee angered politicians, who are considering new regulations against social media companies such as Google and Facebook.
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Read more:
Zuckerberg to push positives in testimony over Cambridge Analytica
Zuckerberg to meet EU officials but will dodge public grilling
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Mr Zuckerberg’s grilling came after a prominent critic called for a radical overhaul of the tech company’s business model after the “hijacking” of its 2.2 billion users.
Hours before Mr Zuckerberg’s appearance in Brussels, the British MPs heard testimony from Tristan Harris, a former Google employee who has said that Facebook is too powerful to be controlled by one man.
Mr Harris, the founder for the Centre for Humane Technology, called for Facebook’s business model to be dismantled because of the long-term effects on behaviour, mental health and technology addiction. He has previously said that the company should be turned into a heavily-regulated public benefit corporation to serve the public good.
He said politicians should:
:: Ban advertising that allows social media companies to use their vast data holdings to ‘micro-target’ voters
:: Change the legal basis of social media companies so they are held responsible for their impact on users
:: Tax the companies based on the level of harm to society through mental health problems and addiction
“When you control people’s minds, you control society,” said Mr Harris, speaking via videolink from Paris, where he is also due to attend a global tech summit organised by President Macron.
He said the companies employed “growth hackers” whose role was to use psychological tactics to build the number of users and increase the time they spent on a particular platform.
He said that the tactics had seen Facebook “hijack two billion human beings” through their “addiction to growth and global domination”.
He said that the gathering of vast amounts of data meant that engineers at technology companies would know better than an individual how they will behave and vote. “This is only going to continue, which is why we have to change course,” said Mr Harris.
“They [social media companies] fear any kind of regulation. They fear anything that would slow them down because they need to grow fast.
“It’s like a priest in a confession booth listening to two billion confessions” and then selling the product of those discussions, he said. “We should never have allowed them to have the business model of selling that to a third party.”
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
The years Ramadan fell in May
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.
Eliminated after second session
11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.
Eliminated after first session
15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
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