*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).
The exercise media and equipment company reported that it had made $915 million in revenues in the past fiscal year, but saw net losses of about $196 million, in its filing to go public.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
Elon Musk says SpaceX will again attempt to launch its Starhopper prototype rocket around 5 p.m. ET today, 24 hours after engineers were forced to scrub the launch with one second remaining on the countdown clock.
On the back of a groundbreaking partnership with data heavyweights Deloitte and Nielsen, cannabis industry intelligence company Headset on Monday announced the launch of its real time analytics tool in the province of Alberta, marking its official debut in the Canadian market. Stakeholders anticipate the data Headset Insights generates ー first in Alberta, and eventually across all of Canada ー will serve as a road map for companies outside of cannabis looking to penetrate the industry, and for Canadian cannabis companies as the market grows more diverse and competitive.
Security startup Openpath announces office tech that will allow workers to report intruders, active shooters, or other threats directly from their mobile devices and send an emergency alert directly to an office's physical security infrastructure.
Gravy Analytics, a location-based marketing technology company, analyzed the smartphone data of people who attended the 111 solo Democratic presidential candidate events held in June and July.
Shares of Lyft ($LYFT) popped more than 3 percent Monday morning after an analyst upgraded the company, citing higher prices as a path to profitability for the ride-hail company.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Aug. 23, 2019.
After hearing complaints that there wasn't enough quality inventory from her own homebuying clients, Sandra Heddon started a pre-designed, sustainable home company to fill the gap. Heddon, who is the co-founder and owner of Modern Catskills, joins Cheddar to discuss how she launched her business.
