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FB Bug Exposes Photos of 6.8M Users to Outside Developers
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Facebook’s data-privacy problems aren’t showing signs of receding. The company recently announced that a software bug gave outside developers access to photos of 6.8 million users. These photos were either not posted or they have been posted in the Marketplace or Facebook Stories section instead of their timeline.
In a blog post, the company stated that the glitch happened between Sep 13 and Sep 25, 2018, and involved up to 1500 apps developed by 876 developers. Facebook has fixed the bug and is alerting people potentially affected.
Eroding Trust, “Sorry” Not Enough
“We're sorry this happened,” Facebook said in the blog.
However, a mere “sorry” from the company may not be enough to appease users, investors, advertisers and regulators, given the rising frequency of data-privacy issues.
This has been a terrible year for Facebook, beginning from the Cambridge Analytica scandal that affected 87 million users, to September data breach in which hackers accessed 50 million accounts, to the latest software glitch. Notably, the shares of the company have lost 18.4% year to date compared with the S&P 500 Composite’s decline of 2.8%.
It is important to note that Facebook’s popularity is on the decline. Per the Pew Research Center, teens now prefer Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Youtube, Snap’s (SNAP - Free Report) Snapchat and Instagram over Facebook.
Per another Pew study, 44% of younger users (between 18 and 29) have deleted the Facebook app from their phone in the past year, almost four times of the older users (65 and older). More significantly, 42% of the sampled adults have taken a break from checking the platform for a period of several weeks or more in the past 12 months. The user exodus was apparently due to the data-privacy issues.
A declining user base, primarily due to eroding trust, also doesn’t bode well for Facebook’s advertiser base. Notably, advertising accounts for 92% of the company’s revenues.
Although Facebook is making significant investments to strengthen security on the platform, the latest glitch puts the company’s efforts to assure users, investors, advertisers and regulators about its progress in securing the platform and user data in jeopardy.
Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifying
The frequency in data-privacy issues has also attracted global scrutiny and probe by regulatory authorities. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) is now investigating Facebook for allegedly violating General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that kicked in May 25, this year, across Europe.
Notably, GDPR requires companies to report data breaches to authorities within 72 hours. The law also allows regulators to impose fines of up to 4% of annual global revenues for violation. According to The Telegraph, Facebook can face a fine of over $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) since it reported the glitch to DPC in November, although the company identified the bug and fixed it in September.
Notably, DPC announced a probe to Facebook’s data-privacy issues in September under the GDPR. Per Bloomberg, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is also looking into the company’s data breaches.
The company’s data practices have also been criticized by regulators from countries like Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Latvia, Singapore, France, Belgium and the U.K. Notably, Facebook has already been fined 500,000 pounds by the British Commissioner for misuse of user data.
Expected long-term earnings growth rate for Etsy is 15%.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
Image: Bigstock
FB Bug Exposes Photos of 6.8M Users to Outside Developers
Facebook’s data-privacy problems aren’t showing signs of receding. The company recently announced that a software bug gave outside developers access to photos of 6.8 million users. These photos were either not posted or they have been posted in the Marketplace or Facebook Stories section instead of their timeline.
In a blog post, the company stated that the glitch happened between Sep 13 and Sep 25, 2018, and involved up to 1500 apps developed by 876 developers. Facebook has fixed the bug and is alerting people potentially affected.
Eroding Trust, “Sorry” Not Enough
“We're sorry this happened,” Facebook said in the blog.
However, a mere “sorry” from the company may not be enough to appease users, investors, advertisers and regulators, given the rising frequency of data-privacy issues.
This has been a terrible year for Facebook, beginning from the Cambridge Analytica scandal that affected 87 million users, to September data breach in which hackers accessed 50 million accounts, to the latest software glitch. Notably, the shares of the company have lost 18.4% year to date compared with the S&P 500 Composite’s decline of 2.8%.
It is important to note that Facebook’s popularity is on the decline. Per the Pew Research Center, teens now prefer Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Youtube, Snap’s (SNAP - Free Report) Snapchat and Instagram over Facebook.
Per another Pew study, 44% of younger users (between 18 and 29) have deleted the Facebook app from their phone in the past year, almost four times of the older users (65 and older). More significantly, 42% of the sampled adults have taken a break from checking the platform for a period of several weeks or more in the past 12 months. The user exodus was apparently due to the data-privacy issues.
A declining user base, primarily due to eroding trust, also doesn’t bode well for Facebook’s advertiser base. Notably, advertising accounts for 92% of the company’s revenues.
Although Facebook is making significant investments to strengthen security on the platform, the latest glitch puts the company’s efforts to assure users, investors, advertisers and regulators about its progress in securing the platform and user data in jeopardy.
Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifying
The frequency in data-privacy issues has also attracted global scrutiny and probe by regulatory authorities. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) is now investigating Facebook for allegedly violating General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that kicked in May 25, this year, across Europe.
Notably, GDPR requires companies to report data breaches to authorities within 72 hours. The law also allows regulators to impose fines of up to 4% of annual global revenues for violation. According to The Telegraph, Facebook can face a fine of over $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) since it reported the glitch to DPC in November, although the company identified the bug and fixed it in September.
Notably, DPC announced a probe to Facebook’s data-privacy issues in September under the GDPR. Per Bloomberg, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is also looking into the company’s data breaches.
The company’s data practices have also been criticized by regulators from countries like Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Latvia, Singapore, France, Belgium and the U.K. Notably, Facebook has already been fined 500,000 pounds by the British Commissioner for misuse of user data.
Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider
Facebook currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Etsy (ETSY - Free Report) , with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), is a stock worth considering in the same sector. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Expected long-term earnings growth rate for Etsy is 15%.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>