*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).
Shark Week is back for its 31st year and fans can bite into a new lineup of shows featuring some of the ocean's fiercest predators.
Green Dot, the inventor of prepaid debit cards and the invisible banking platform behind fintech startups and brands like Uber and Apple Pay, is becoming a direct-to-consumer brand with the launch of (yet another) high-yield savings account and a cash-back checking account.
With Project xCloud, Microsoft throws its hat in the ring against the upcoming Google Stadia and the already-existing PlayStation Now service, allowing games to stream from hardware located in the cloud network.
Chicago-based cannabis company Cresco Labs unveiled a new dispensary and retail cannabis shop concept on Monday. Called Sunnyside, the concept emphasizes health and wellness and aims to create an accessible, immersive retail environment that pushes Cresco along on its mission of creating a nationally-recognizable cannabis brand.
Cheddar spoke to Twitter's head of global operations and emerging businesses Yannis Dosios after the social media platform shared strong earnings with the number of monetizable daily active users going up.
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.
The Department of Justice has required that Sprint divest its prepaid division to Dish in a move worth about $1.4 billion. Sprint and T-Mobile must also make 200,000 cell sites available to that provider as well.
Digital health company Livongo had a successful public debut Thursday on the Nasdaq. It's the latest in a wave of digital health companies entering the public markets. Hemant Taneja, managing director at General Catalyst, joins Cheddar to discuss.
Shares of CannTrust surged 15 percent on Friday after the Canadian cannabis company announced it terminated CEO Peter Aceto in the midst of regulatory drama that has plundered the company's stock value. Jefferies' analyst Ryan Tomkins predicted the management shuffle in a Wednesday note, which called management's positions "untenable."
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, July 26, 2019.
