Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s public statement on Cambridge Analytica overwhelmingly failed to quell concerns, said Ina Fried, Chief Technology Correspondent at Axios.
“[The company] did a good job of hitting their talking points and they were very consistent,” Fried told Cheddar. “But I don’t think that’s the real measure...There’s a lot still to be answered.
“People want to know what are they doing now for the threats that they’re facing. We’re still waiting to see if are they capable of stopping things like misinformation and election fraud.”
After five days of silence, Zuckerberg gave interviews with four media outlets on Wednesday. The key takeaways included an explicit apology, his willingness to testify in front of Congress, and his openness to regulations on ads on Facebook.
The public mea culpa stems from revelations last week that a data company, Cambridge Analytica, had used Facebook to harvest information on tens of millions of Americans without their permission. That data was then packaged into personality profiles and sold to President Trump’s campaign team during the 2016 election.
In an effort to build back trust with users, Zuckerberg also posted a statement on his Facebook profile with a detailed timeline of what happened and a few changes to privacy and data policies, including an audit of thousands of apps on its platform.
But that isn’t enough, said Alex Shepard, staff writer at The New Republic.
“They would need to open themselves up to an external audit...to look at how these groups and apps are using their data, and they’re not going to do that.”
The apology didn’t do well with investors either. Facebook stock dipped nearly another three percent Thursday, continuing the stocks worst week in years.
Meanwhile in D.C., lawmakers continued to push for Zuckerberg to testify before Congress.
“The notion that these large platforms that have such dominance in the marketplace are going to police themselves and respect the privacy interests of the American people has clearly not worked,” Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) told Cheddar Thursday.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/mark-zuckerberg-tries-to-smooth-things-over-with-billions-of-friends).
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
