The Federal Trade Commission officially launched an investigation into Facebook’s data practices Monday.
The agency is exploring whether the social media platform violated an agreement from back in 2011 by failing to abide by its privacy promises.
But Axios managing editor Kim Hart says the matter isn’t cut and dry.
“Here’s the problem -- there are no real rules on the books that dictate how data from a company like Facebook can be shared or sold or used,” she said in an interview on Cheddar.
“As long as they are abiding by the privacy policies that they put out and the privacy standards that they tell consumers that they’re going to use, they’re in pretty good stead.”
Seven years ago, Facebook reached a settlement with the FTC over allegedly tricking users into believing that they could keep their data on the platform private when it was in fact open to third party apps.
Under that agreement, Facebook was required to “obtain periodic assessments of its privacy practices by independent, third-party auditors for the next 20 years,” according to an official statement from the FTC.
The increased scrutiny comes at a time when Facebook’s popularity is waning. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that just 41 percent of Americans trust the company will protect their privacy, compared to 66 percent who trust Amazon and 62 percent for Google.
A separate Axios study found that Facebook’s favorability fell by 28 points in just the past five months.
“It’s a pretty stunning drop that we saw,” said Hart. “It fell twice as much as the other tech giants did.”
This onslaught of negative coverage comes after news that data company Cambridge Analytica harvested data on tens of millions of Americans off of Facebook without their permission. It then sold that information to President Trump’s campaign team in 2016.
Since the revelation, Facebook shares have fallen by 13 percent. Initial news of the FTC investigation sent shares down an additional 6 percent Monday, but they recovered for a slight gain by the end of the day.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-under-fire-why-its-favorability-is-plummeting).
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
