Facebook Critics Move For Regulation After Data Misuse

Facebook Inc faced new calls for regulation from within U.S. Congress and was hit with questions about personal data safeguards on Saturday after reports a political consultant gained inappropriate access to 50 million users’ data starting in 2014.

Facebook disclosed the issue in a blog post on Friday, hours before media reports that conservative-leaning Cambridge Analytica, a data company known for its work on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was given access to the data and may not have deleted it.

The scrutiny presented a new threat to Facebook’s reputation, which was already under attack over Russians’ alleged use of Facebook tools to sway American voters before and after the 2016 U.S. elections.

Google is cracking down on cryptocurrency-related advertising. The company will no longer allow ads about cryptocurrency-related content, including initial coin offerings (ICOs), wallets, and trading advice across any of its ad platforms. The move follows a similar ban by Facebook earlier this year.

Trump Prods Games Violence Meeting

The publishers of video games such games as Doomand Grand Theft Auto joined US President Donald Trump Thursday, in a White House roundtable discussion about violent video games and whether they play a part in desensitizing some players and contribute to the likelihood they might commit violence.

The meeting comes in the wake of last month's shooting at a school in Florida in which 17 people lost their lives.

The chief executive of a company that created highly-secure smartphones allegedly used by some of the world's most notorious criminals has been indicted.

Canadian-based Phantom Secure made "tens of millions of dollars" selling the modified Blackberry devices for use by the likes of the Sinaloa Cartel, investigators said.

The charges marked the first time US authorities have targeted a company for knowingly making encrypted technology for criminals.

The Department of Justice arrested Vincent Ramos in Seattle last week. He was indicted on Thursday along with four associates.

The BBC has been unable to reach Phantom Secure.

Strava Fitness-tracking app revealed that beginning from Tuesday, it will remove some data and restrict access to an online map that unintentionally revealed military posts and other sensitive sites.

The app, which has 27 million users around the world, uses a mobile phone's GPS to track a subscribers exercise activity, showing the paths its users log as they run or cycle.

Strava’s heat map shows exercise routes in colors such as white, orange and purple that signify their popularity.

EU Moves To Boost Financial Technology With Crowdfunding Platform

The European Union’s executive has proposed a draft law to offer crowdfunding platforms bloc-wide access to customers as part of efforts to boost growth in the financial technology sector.

Crowdfunding allows start-ups to tap small sums of money from many individuals as an alternative to a bank loan, still the main source of funding for small and medium-sized companies.