Episode 268: Unethical Data Experiment

Cambridge Analytica's use of Facebook data was a 'grossly unethical experiment' coming to light thanks to a whistleblower. We'll play his story, and discuss what they did with the data.

Plus Google, Target, and Walmart's unholy alliance to battle Amazon and Twitter's Cryptocoin crackdown.

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Links:

• Uber Halts Autonomous-Car Testing After Fatal Arizona Crash — The 49-year-old woman, Elaine Herzberg, was crossing the road outside of a crosswalk when the Uber vehicle operating in autonomous mode under the supervision of a human safety driver struck her, according to the Tempe Police Department.
• Google plans to boost Amazon competitors in search shopping ads — Google made the announcement on its AdWords blog this morning, detailing an initiative called Shopping Actions. Through this feature, retailers can leverage a "universal cart" that allows customers to easily shop across mobile, desktop and voice-controlled devices. Basically, Google says this will make it much easier for you to shop by voice or with a phone/computer from a number of stores.
• Cambridge Analytica harvested data from millions of unsuspecting Facebook users — Cambridge Analytica, a company that profiled voters for Donald Trump’s campaign, allegedly harvested private information from more than 50 million Facebook profiles, which they used to influence and wage a "culture war" during the 2016 election.
• New York professor sues Cambridge Analytica to find out what it knows about him
• Facebook wants more video creators to compete with YouTube, so it’s rolling out a subscription feature - Recode — Facebook will soon let you subscribe to your favorite creator for $5 a month.
• GrayKey iPhone unlocker poses serious security concerns — According to Forbes, the GrayKey iPhone unlocker device is marketed for in-house use at law enforcement offices or labs.
• Twitter Will Ban Most Cryptocurrency-Related Ads — Twitter plans to ban most cryptocurrency-related ads in the next few weeks, as Sky News first reported and a source confirms to Axios. Why it matters: The recent boom in cryptocurrencies and digital tokens has unsurprisingly attracted some fraudsters. Twitter is following in the footsteps of Facebook and Google, though it's been having its own problems with accounts promoting scams.