*By Alisha Haridasani*
Facebook said it will resume its process of reviewing third-party apps using new, tighter controls after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed holes in the social network's data privacy protocols.
“We’re going to be taking a higher level of expectation when we look at your applications,” said Ime Archibong, Facebook’s vice president of product partnerships, in his keynote speech Wednesday at Facebook’s annual developers' conference.
Facebook also announced that it will restrict the amount of data that apps have access to and enable users to see exactly what data is being used by third-party apps, or more easily delete apps they no longer use.
Facebook halted its review of all outside apps after it was revealed that users' data had been mishandled by a third-party app and shared with the research firm Cambridge Analytica.
The decision to suspend reviews ー and the changes ー frustrated some developers, who said their businesses was disrupted. But Archibong told Cheddar's Alex Heath in an interview Wednesday that most developers understand in “the long run that’s the right thing to do.”
“Facebook’s making these changes not because we’re trying to be hard or add more friction or be disruptive to the building process but truly to ensure that people trust the products that we’re building,” Archibong said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/behind-the-curtain-at-facebooks-f8-conference).
The gaming industry has seen multiple large scales deals this month alone, including Microsoft's megadeal for Activision Blizzard. And, seemingly in response, rival Sony, picked up Bungie for $3.6 billion, a studio once owned by both Microsoft and Activision. The sector is reportedly on track to spend $150 billion on mergers and acquisitions just this year alone, a record-breaking total, according to investment firm Drake Star Partners. Michael Metzger, a partner at the firm specializing in technology, media, and communications, joined Cheddar to discuss the flurry of deals in the gaming space and what might be behind the hot M&A activity.
Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs and TRM Labs, joins Cheddar News to discuss why Facebook is ditching its crypto project and what that means for the space.
A virtual gathering in the online space, Decentraland, of Elvis Presley impersonators is looking to grab the Guinness World Record for most Elvis impersonators in one place after the record-keeping org recently approved the use of avatars as stand-ins for people.
Tesla reported record profits for an electric fourth quarter, but investors still have plenty of questions. The EV giant will not be releasing any new vehicles this year and provided no updates on its Cybertruck. Cheddar News was joined by Ed Butowsky, Chapwood Investments Managing Partner to go over Tesla's quarter and analyze its concerns going forward.
Julius De Kempenaer, Senior Technical Analyst at Stockcharts.com, joined Cheddar News to break down what led to Apple's massive quarter, and what the future may hold for the tech giant as competition with Microsoft ramps up.
