Page 24 - aruba-today-20190426

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Friday 26 april 2019

Possible $5B Facebook fine echoes European tech penalties

By BARBARA ORTUTAY she said, “may impact
AP Technology Writer the ways advertisers can
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — use the platform in the
The possibility of a $5 bil- future.”Facebook has had
lion federal privacy fine for several high-profile privacy
Facebook suggests that lapses in the past couple
U.S. regulators may be tak- of years. The FTC has been
ing a cue from the large looking into Facebook’s
penalties their European involvement with the da-
counterparts have been ta-mining firm Cambridge
handing out to U.S. tech- Analytica since last March.
nology giants. That company accessed
While investors appear to the data of as many as
have shrugged it off for 87 million Facebook users
now, the potential fine without their consent.
from the U.S. Federal Trade The 2011 FTC agreement
Commission would be more bound Facebook to a 20-
than a slap on the wrist for year privacy commitment
Facebook, especially if it and violations could sub-
comes with strings that limit ject Facebook to fines of
how the company targets $41,484 per violation per
advertising to its massive user per day. The agree-
user base. ment requires that Face-
Facebook said Wednesday book users give “affirmative
it is planning for a fine be- In this March 28, 2018, file photo, a visitor poses for a photo with the Facebook logo reflected on express consent” any time
tween $3 billion and $5 bil- her sunglasses at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. that data they haven’t
lion and formally set aside Associated Press made public is shared with
$3 billion for the FTC, which sures, and U.S. presidential play a smaller role in its busi- hours trading. Wall Street a third party.
is investigating whether the candidate Elizabeth War- ness, flexing its muscles in e- in general tends to forgive The FTC’s investigation
social network violated its ren has proposed break- commerce and payments one-time accounting dents and anticipated sanction
users’ privacy. The amount ing up the biggest U.S. tech and touting a coming shift in companies’ earnings re- against Facebook has put
is a contingency against a companies. toward private communi- ports and focus instead on a spotlight on the agency’s
possible penalty; Facebook In Europe, regulators have cations. how the overall business role as an enforcer of priva-
noted that the “matter re- routinely slapped Google The one-time charge is doing. Besides, even if cy protections. Consumer
mains unresolved.” and other U.S. firms with slashed Facebook’s first- Facebook ends up pay- privacy advocates and
The company’s disclosure is major fines. Google now quarter profit considerably, ing $5 billion this year, it’s Democratic lawmakers,
the latest indication of U.S. owes almost $10 billion in although revenue grew unlikely to seriously harm a saying the FTC is hampered,
moves toward tighter regu- such penalties for alleged by 26% in the period. The company that’s expected have pushed for legislation
lation of the technology in- anticompetitive behavior; FTC has been looking into to rake in profit of $22 billion to expand its powers and
dustry, which has enjoyed its parent company Alpha- whether Facebook broke this year. funding to police privacy.
years of nearly unrestricted bet is appealing. EU watch- its own 2011 agreement EMarketer analyst Debra Republicans have gener-
growth with little oversight. dogs also hit Apple with promising to protect user Aho Williamson, however, ally opposed an expansion
Talk of a national data-pri- a back-taxes bill of more privacy. called it a “significant de- of federal authority, but in
vacy law is swirling around than $15 billion . Investors shrugged off the velopment” and noted the wake of the Facebook
Capitol Hill, states like Cali- Facebook, meanwhile, is charge and sent the com- that any settlement is likely and other privacy scandals
fornia have already forged already preparing for a fu- pany’s stock up more than to go beyond a mere dol- some have taken a more
ahead with their own mea- ture where targeted ads 9% to nearly $200 in after- lar amount. The FTC move, open view. q

Google’s Wing Aviation gets FAA OK for drone deliveries

WASHINGTON (AP) — ments by participating in The company didn’t name pany said its drones have more obstacles in deliver-
Google affiliate Wing Avia- a pilot program in Virginia any businesses that would flown more than 70,000 ing retail packages and
tion has received federal with the Mid-Atlantic Avia- take part in commercial test flights and made more food because of federal
approval allowing it to tion Partnership and Virgin- deliveries. It said it plans than 3,000 deliveries to cus- regulations that bar most
make commercial deliver- ia Tech, and by conduct- to spend the next several tomers in Australia. flights over crowds of peo-
ies by drone. ing thousands of flights in months demonstrating its The company is touting ple and beyond sight of the
It’s the first time a com- Australia over the past sev- technology and answering many benefits from deliver- operator without a waiver
pany has gotten a federal eral years. questions from people and ies by electric drones. It says from the FAA. The federal
air carrier certification for “This is an important step businesses in Blacksburg medicine and food can government recently esti-
drone deliveries. forward for the safe testing and Christiansburg, Virgin- be delivered faster, that mated that about 110,000
The approval from the Fed- and integration of drones ia. Wing said it will “solicit drones will be especially commercial drones were
eral Aviation Administration into our economy,” Trans- feedback with the goal of helpful to consumers who operating in the U.S., and
means that Wing can op- portation Secretary Elaine launching a delivery trial need help getting around, that number is expected
erate commercial drone Chao said in a statement. later this year.” and that they can reduce to zoom to about 450,000
flights in part of Virginia, Wing said the approval Wing said that to win FAA traffic and emissions. in 2022. Amazon is working
which it plans to begin later “means that we can be- certification it had to show Drone usage in the U.S. on drone delivery, a topic
this year. gin a commercial service that one of its drone deliv- has grown rapidly in some keen to CEO Jeff Bezos.
The FAA said Tuesday that delivering goods from local eries would pose less risk to industries such as utilities, Delivery companies includ-
the company met the businesses to homes in the pedestrians than the same pipelines and agriculture. ing UPS and DHL have also
agency’s safety require- United States.” trip made in a car. The com- But drones have faced conducted tests.q