*By Conor White* With the Cambridge Analytica scandal barely behind it, Facebook is suspending another data firm for its use of user data. The company is investigating Boston-based Crimson Hexagon for possible ties to a Kremlin-linked Russian nonprofit and the U.S. government. But Michael Nuñez, Deputy Tech Editor for Mashable, [thinks there's an important public-private distinction.](https://mashable.com/2018/07/20/facebook-suspends-crimson-hexagon/) "In this case, what \[Crimson Hexagon\] has done is actually take public posts, so this is stuff that people had allowed the public to have access to." As Nuñez noted, Crimson Hexagon hasn't violated any of Facebook's rules, per se. Cambridge Analytica, on the other hand, was dumped after [extracting](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/26/cambridge-analytica-trump-campaign-us-election-laws) private user data and allegedly violating U.S. law by unfairly influencing the 2014 and 2016 election cycles. But Nuñez warned, this could be just the beginning. "I question whether \[Facebook\] has any grip on how many companies are out there like this," he said. "The tricky part about this is once the data leaves Facebook's platform, once a company siphons this off of Facebook using their API, then it's really hard for Facebook to know where that data is going." Despite the latest news, Nuñez said it will take a lot more bad news to cripple the resilient social media giant. "The trove of data is still there, they still have two billion users that any advertiser can access at any point, so I think it's going to take a lot to derail the company," he said. The Cambridge Analytica scandal broke late in the first quarter, so had limited impact on the company's last earnings report. Facebook releases second quarter results on Wednesday. For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-suspends-another-data-firm).

Share:
More In Technology
Investors Look to Tesla Earnings Amid Record Q1 Deliveries, Shanghai Shutdown
Garrett Nelson, a senior analyst and VP of equity research at CFRA Research, joined Cheddar News to give a preview of Tesla earnings amid its seventh straight record quarter in vehicle deliveries while it faces some headwinds with the ongoing Shanghai, China, lockdown due to pandemic. "We view Tesla as one of the market's best secular growth stories," he said. "It's one of our top picks, and their execution has been really stellar over the last several quarters. They've beat nine of the past 10 quarters, so that's a 90 percent beat rate."
Netflix Faces Stiff Streaming Competition as Q1 Earnings Wait on Deck
Netflix is slated to give its Q1 report after the closing bell, and Jason Moser, a senior analyst at The Motley Fool, joined Cheddar News to give a preview of what to expect from the streaming giant's earnings. "I think Netflix, like many businesses out there the last couple of years, says it's pulled forward a lot of success just due to the pandemic, and that's not necessarily a bad thing," he said. "But it does alter the picture, the growth picture maybe, going forward." Moser also noted that the streaming space for Netflix is especially competitive now as opposed to about a decade ago.
With Child Fraud on the Rise, Here's How to Protect Your Kids Online
More than one-third of children interact with devices before the age of five. This is the same age when we're reminding kids to not talk to strangers, but what about strangers lurking on the internet? Children are increasingly becoming prime targets for cyber fraud and it's important to teach them how to stay safe from online fraudsters. Richard Dufty, chief commercial officer at Arkose Labs, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
TikTok's Influence on Advertising
As TikTok grows in popularity, so does its ad revenue potential. Research firm Insider Intelligence forecasts the app's revenue will likely triple in 2022 to more than $11 billion, putting it past the sales of both Twitter and Snapchat combined. Cheddar News takes a closer look.
Load More