03/19/2018 | UPONSOFT

Tribeca to Hold ‘Schindler’s List,’ ‘Scarface’ Reunions

By Uponent | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

The 25th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” and the 35th anniversary of Brian De Palma’s “Scarface” will be celebrated with reunion screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The New York festival announced Monday that Spielberg will join Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Embeth Davidtz for a post-screening conversation April 26 at the Beacon Theatre. The “Scarface” event will reunite De Palma, Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer on April 19 at the Beacon Theatre.

The festival will also host an anniversary screening of 1992’s “In the Soup,” an acclaimed independent film directed by Alexandre Rockwell. The largely forgotten release, starring Steve Buscemi and Seymour Cassel, has been restored following a Kickstarter campaign to repair the remaining, damaged print.

Also slated for on-stage interviews at Tribeca are Bradley Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Spike Lee and Alec Baldwin.

The festival runs April 18-29.
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Trump Bans US Use of Venezuelan Cryptocurrency

By Uponbiz | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Business

The Trump administration on Monday banned all use by Americans of Venezuelan cryptocurrency, saying that its introduction is intended to skirt U.S. sanctions. In a separate move, the administration also slapped sanctions on four current and former senior Venezuelan officials accused of corruption and mismanagement.

In an executive order that took effect immediately upon its issuance, President Donald Trump declared illegal all U.S. transactions related to Venezuelan digital currencies, coins or tokens. The prohibition applies to all people and companies subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The move follows the introduction last month of a Venezuelan cryptocurrency known as the “petro,” for which the government says it has received investment commitments of $5 billion.

In the executive order, Trump said it was an “attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions” imposed for democratic backsliding.

The Treasury had said in January that the petro appeared to be an extension of credit to Venezuela and warned that transactions in it may violate U.S. sanctions.

In February, cash-strapped Venezuela became the first country to launch its own version of bitcoin, the petro, in a move that President Nicolas Maduro celebrated as putting his country on the world’s technological forefront.

The petro is backed by Venezuela’s crude oil reserves, the largest in the world, yet it has arrived on the market as the socialist country sinks deeper into an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and food shortages that put residents in lines for hours to buy common products.

Maduro had announced late last year that he was creating the digital currency to outmaneuver U.S. sanctions preventing Venezuela from issuing new debt.

Bitcoin and other digital tokens are already widely used in Venezuela as a hedge against hyperinflation and an easy-to-use mechanism for paying for everything from doctor visits to honeymoons in a country where obtaining hard currency requires transactions in the illegal black market.

The government has promised that Venezuelans will be able to use the $60 coins to pay taxes and for public services. But with the Venezuelan minimum wage hovering around $3 a month, it’s unlikely citizens will buy in large amounts.

In its own statement on Monday, Treasury said it was hitting the four current and former Venezuelan officials with sanctions that freeze any assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from doing business with them.

The four include Americo Alex Mata, a director of Venezuela’s National Bank of Housing and Habitat and coordinator of Maduro’s 2013 campaign, Willian Antonio Contreras, the head of the body that oversees price controls in the country, Nelson Reinaldo Lepaje, the head of the Office of the National Treasury, and Carlos Alberto Rotondaro, the former president of the Board of Directors of the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security.
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World Bank Says Climate Change Could Create 140 Million Migrants by 2050

By Uponsci | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Science

A new report by the World Bank shows that the effects of climate change could force 140 million people to move within their countries by 2050.

The report looked at three developing regions of the world — sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America — and found that unless urgent action is taken, the regions will likely have to deal with tens of millions of so-called climate migrants.

Climate migrants are people who are forced to move within their country because of water scarcity, crop failure, rising sea levels and storm surges due to climate change.

The report shows that with strong global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and good development planning in each country, the number of climate migrants could be reduced dramatically — from a projected 140 million people to 40 million people by 2050.

“We have a small window now, before the effects of climate change deepen, to prepare the ground for this new reality,” World Bank chief executive officer Kristalina Georgieva said about the new research.

She said it is “important to help people make good decisions about whether to stay where they are or move to new locations where they are less vulnerable.”

The report noted that the effects of climate change will often force people to move from rural areas suffering from droughts or crop failures to cities where there are different opportunities. However, it noted that cities must take the time to plan for the possibility for greater influxes of people.

“Without the right planning and support, people migrating from rural areas into cities could be facing new and even more dangerous risks,” said Kanta Kumari Rigaud, the report’s team lead.

“We could see increased tensions and conflict as a result of pressure on scarce resources,” Rigaud added.

The report recommends key actions to help prevent wide-scale climate migration: cutting global greenhouse gas emissions; improving development planning at the local level for climate migration; and investing in data to better understand climate migration trends in each country.

The report notes that any upsurge in climate migration will be in addition to millions of other migrants within countries, moving for economic, social, political or other reasons.
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Self-Driving Car Hits and Kills Pedestrian Outside of Phoenix

By Uponsil | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Silicon Valley

A self-driving car has hit and killed a woman in the southwestern United States in what is believed to be the first fatal pedestrian crash involving the new technology.

Police said Monday a self-driving sport utility vehicle owned by the ride sharing company Uber struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was walking outside of a crosswalk in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. She later died in a hospital from her injuries.

Uber said it had suspended its autonomous vehicle program across the United States and Canada following the accident.

Police say the vehicle was in autonomous mode, but had an operator behind the wheel, when the accident took place.

Testing of self-driving cars by various companies has been going on for months in the Phoenix area, as well as Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto as automakers and technology companies compete to be the first to introduce the new technology.

The vehicle involved in the crash was a Volvo XC90, which Uber had been using to test its autonomous technology. However, Volvo said it did not make the self-driving technology.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board said they are sending a team to gather information about the crash.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expressed condolences on Twitter and said the company is working with local law enforcement on the investigation.

The fatal crash will most likely raise questions about regulations for self-driving cars. Arizona has offered little regulations for the new technology, which has led to many technology companies flocking to the state to test their autonomous vehicles.

Proponents of the new technology argue that self-driving cars will prove to be safer than human drivers, because the cars will not get distracted and will obey all traffic laws.

Critics have expressed concern about the technology’s safety, including the ability of the autonomous technology to deal with unpredictable events.

Consumer Watch, the nonprofit consumer advocacy group, called Monday for a nationwide moratorium on testing self-driving cars on public roads while investigators figure out what went wrong in the latest accident.

“Arizona has been the Wild West of robot car testing, with virtually no regulations in place,” the group said in a statement.

Democratic Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, who is a member of the Senate transportation committee, said there must be more oversight of the technology. He said he is working on a “comprehensive” autonomous vehicle legislative package.

“This tragic accident underscores why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and deploying autonomous vehicle technologies on public roads,” he said.

Concerns over the safety of autonomous vehicles increased in July 2016 after a fatality involving a partially autonomous Tesla automobile. In that accident, the driver put the car in “autopilot” mode, and the car failed to detect a tractor-trailer that was crossing the road. The driver of the Tesla died in the crash. Safety regulators later determined Tesla was not at fault.

However, critics have expressed concerns about the safety of the technology, including the ability of the autonomous technology to deal with unpredictable events.
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Global Stocks Fall as Concerns Rise Over Trade, Brexit, & Facebook

By Uponbiz | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Business

Major U.S. and European stock indexes were sharply lower in Monday’s trading over continuing fears of a trade war, Brexit, an upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and trouble with Facebook.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index were both down nearly 1.5 percent, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ was off more than 2 percent.

European markets also dropped over news of a possible deal for Britain’s total exit from the European Union.

President Donald Trump’s efforts to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. are raising concerns of a trade war, which is making investors nervous.

Also Monday, reports emerged that a consulting company associated with Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and worked with tech giant Facebook improperly gained access to information on millions of Facebook users.

The price of Facebook shares plummeted 7 percent on Monday, shaking up tech stocks in general.
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Greenpeace Says Brands Refusing to Reveal Palm Oil Sources

By Uponbiz | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Business

Greenpeace says household brands including PepsiCo and Johnson & Johnson are refusing to disclose where they get their palm oil from despite vows to stop buying from companies that cut down tropical forests to grow the widely used commodity.

The environmental group said Monday that in January it asked 16 major brands to reveal their suppliers of palm oil, which is mainly grown in Indonesia and Malaysia and used in a slew of consumer products from snacks to cosmetics. It said eight disclosed the information and eight refused.

Greenpeace said that adds to concerns international consumer goods companies are “way off track” in meeting a 2010 commitment to remove deforestation-linked palm oil from their supply chains by 2020.

“Corporate commitments and polices have proliferated, but companies have largely failed to implement them,” it said.

Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills, Mars, Mondelez, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever agreed to publicly disclose the mills that produce the palm oil they buy and the names of groups that control the mills. Ferrero, Hershey, Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, PZ Cussons and Smucker refused to provide the information, according to Greenpeace.

Globally, four industries – palm oil, soya, logging and cattle rearing – are the biggest destroyers of the virgin forests that are a crucial buffer against the rise in global temperatures.

Indonesia, which has overtaken Brazil as the country cutting down its forests at the fastest rate, lost 24 million hectares of rainforest between 1990 and 2015, Greenpeace said citing government data.

“Alarmingly, the destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests for palm oil shows no signs of slowing down,” the group said.

Groups representing the palm oil industry in Indonesia and Malaysia contend that much of the opposition to palm oil is a protectionist effort by rival industries in Western nations.

They point to an initiative known as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil as evidence they are taking conservation and other commitments seriously.

But Greenpeace said neither the industry initiative nor governments can be relied on to prevent palm oil producers from clearing forests.

“Palm oil traders, typically corporations that also have plantation interests, continue to allow oil from rainforest destroyers into their mills, refineries and distribution systems,” it said.
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HSBC Report: India Most Vulnerable Country to Climate Change

By Uponsci | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Science

India is the most vulnerable country to climate change, followed by Pakistan, the Philippines and Bangladesh, a ranking by HSBC showed on Monday.

The bank assessed 67 developed, emerging and frontier markets on vulnerability to the physical impacts of climate change, sensitivity to extreme weather events, exposure to energy transition risks and ability to respond to climate change.

The 67 nations represent almost a third of the world’s nation states, 80 percent of the global population and 94 percent of global gross domestic product.

HSBC averaged the scores in each area for the countries in order to reach the overall ranking. Some countries were highly vulnerable in some areas but less so in others.

Of the four nations assessed by HSBC to be most vulnerable, India has said climate change could cut agricultural incomes, particularly unirrigated areas that would be hit hardest by rising temperatures and declines in rainfall.

Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines are susceptible to extreme weather events, such as storms and flooding.

Pakistan was ranked by HSBC among nations least well-equipped to respond to climate risks.

South and southeast Asian countries accounted for half of the 10 most vulnerable countries. Oman, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Mexico, Kenya and South Africa are also in this group.

The five countries least vulnerable to climate change risk are Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia and New Zealand.

In its last ranking in 2016, HSBC only assessed G20 countries for vulnerability to climate risk.
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Trump Seeks Death Penalty for Drug Traffickers to Curb US Opioid Abuse

By Uponsci | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Science

U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited plan to combat the nation’s opioid addiction crisis on Monday.

In a speech at an event in Manchester, N.H., Trump vowed to help create “a generation of drug-free children” saying, “together, we will end the scourge of drug addiction in America once and for all.”

Trump said in order to win, it is important to “get tough” with drug dealers.

“If we don’t get tough on the drug dealers, we are wasting our time. And that toughness includes the death penalty,” he said, to which the audience responded with applause.

Trump lamented that under the current law, a dealer could sell a drug that could kill thousands during their lifetime but only receive a short prison sentence.

“This is about winning a very, very tough problem. If we don’t get very tough on these dealers, it’s not going happen,” Trump warned.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warned that the president’s proposals need funding or they will end up being “more broken promises from the Trump administration.”

“President Trump’s budget called for staggering cuts to Medicaid, CDC, and mental health and substance abuse funding that is essential to helping families afford treatment and overcome the tragedy of opioid addiction,” she said. “He has worked to destroy the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion and allow the sale of junk health insurance plans that do not cover substance abuse treatment. And now, President Trump darkly flirts with imposing the death penalty for drug crimes.”

Andrew Bremberg, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, told reporters on Sunday that capital punishment would be sought against drug traffickers when appropriate under current law.

When asked to give examples, Bremberg told reporters to refer to the Justice Department for “specific legal analysis,” but added, “Obviously there are instances where that would be appropriate.”

It remains unclear how prosecutors could seek the death penalty for traffickers without changing U.S. law. Some legal scholars have said the issue may need to be decided by the Supreme Court.

Trump explained the first part of his plan to combat the opioid crisis aims to reduce drug demand by preventing Americans from becoming addicted in the first place. That includes increasing federal funding for the development of non-addictive painkillers, a commercial campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse, and addressing the problem in overprescribing. The plan hopes to cut nationwide opioid prescriptions by one-third over the next three years.

The second part of the initiative targets the supply of illicit drugs across U.S. borders and within American communities. Trump told the audience that the nation needs a stronger southern border and a crackdown on sanctuary cities that he said supply drugs to the nation’s heartland.

The third element focuses on helping people in the throes of addiction by expanding evidence-based addiction treatment and recovery services.

In recent speeches, Trump has expressed his preference for the “ultimate penalty” for some traffickers, but this would be the first time the idea became part of an official plan.

“Some countries have a very, very tough penalty. The ultimate penalty. And by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do. So, we’re going to have to be very strong on penalties,” he said earlier this month at a White House opioid summit.

This is Trump’s first visit to New Hampshire as president. The state has been hit hard by the opioid crisis with the nation’s third-highest rate of deaths from overdoses.

Opioids include illegal drugs such as heroin or fentanyl, as well as legal prescription painkillers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and morphine.

Every day, 116 Americans die from opioid-related overdoses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdoses killed roughly 64,000 Americans in 2016 alone, more than the number of Americans killed during the Vietnam War. About two-thirds of these drug deaths involved an opioid.
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Marvel’s Muslim Teen Girl Superhero Challenges Stereotypes

By Uponent | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

Alongside Spider-Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow and the other superheroes of the Marvel Universe is Ms. Marvel… a shape-shifting teen-aged crusader for today’s diverse American society.

She may be a newbie in the world of Marvel superheros, but since she burst onto the comic book scene in February of 2014, Ms. Marvel has become a cultural phenomenon. She’s also the first Muslim superhero to have her own dedicated series.

“I love this comic because it is diverse, and it shows a side of America that I think comics don’t always show,” said DeeDee, a Ms. Marvel fan we met at a Huntington, New York comic book shop.

“She’s not only dealing with school sides of things, like the culture clashes, her parents want her to be more traditional,” said Lois Alison Young, a school teacher who is also a Ms. Marvel fan. “I guess it’s a big cliché but she’s really struggling because she wants to maintain her Muslim identity.”

Ms Marvel is a Pakistani-American teenager from Jersey City named Kamala Khan. Her creator, G. Willow Wilson, is also Muslim.

“She faces a lot of challenges that any teenager faces about family, school, peer pressure, what she wants to do with her life,” Wilson said. “So the real goal is to make the book feel real. How can any reader from any background see themselves in this Muslim girl in the Marvel universe.”

Comic store owner and Orthodox Jew Menachem Luchins welcomed Ms. Marvel fans to meet the author, and says he can relate to Kamala.

“There’s a scene where Kamala goes to the mosque and she’s talking about the responsibilities she has towards people, so it’s vaguely implying that she might be a superhero, but she doesn’t want to tell the imams,” said Luchins. “I have those hypothetical conversations with rabbis in my head. ‘If I got superpowers, would I be allowed on the Sabbath to break Sabbath law to use my superpowers?’ These are the things that I thought of, so Ms Marvel connects with me immensely.”

Kamala Khan’s home town, Jersey City, is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.

“The point of a superhero is to be a symbol for the culture at that time,” Wilson said.

Kamala Khan’s fictional school is based on the real McNair Academic High School.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Mohammad Mirza, a student at McNair Academic High School. “She’s basically the superhero of our school. I think the comic book represents the diversity we have at our school.”

“For many people, this character is their only exposure to Jersey City, their only exposure to Islam, to depictions of Muslim people that defies the traditional Hollywood idea of Islamophobic representations,” said Holly Smith, a teacher at the school. “So it’s just interesting to see, especially in this political climate, how this character has really become such a symbol.”

In 2015, the first Ms. Marvel graphic novel won the Hugo award, the highest prize in fantasy and science-fiction literature, for the best graphic story.
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South Africa’s New Pharmacy ATM

By Uponsci | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Science

What if filling a prescription was as easy as withdrawing money from an ATM? A South African company has set out to make that a reality. Meet the Pharmacy Dispensing Unit.
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UNESCO Study: More Investment Needed in ‘Green’ Water Management Systems

By Uponsci | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Science

Population growth, changing consumption patterns and development are taking their toll on the world’s water supplies, and governments need to rely more on ‘green’ water management to ensure a healthy planet and meet the needs of the fast-growing global population.

That’s one of the messages in a new study by the U.N.’s cultural and scientific organization, UNESCO, presented today at a world water conference in Brazil.

Water demand is increasing by about 1 percent a year, even as climate change, pollution and erosion threaten its quality and availability. But until now, most countries have relied on traditional, man-made water management systems such as reservoirs, irrigation canals and water treatment plants. The study considers the many benefits of natural water “infrastructure” — like wetlands, urban gardens and sustainable farming practices — and finds that very little investment has gone into these greener water management options.

Stefan Uhlenbrook, coordinator of UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Program, which authored the study, notes, “Green solutions can meet several water management solutions at the same time — improving water management, while also reducing floods or droughts. Improving access to water.” He also points to multiple benefits outside the water sector, to “help store carbon, create jobs — particularly in rural environments. They can also help increase biodiversity, which is also very essential.”

Striking a balance

The goal, UNESCO says, is not to scrap traditional water management options like dikes, but instead to strike the right balance between man-made systems and those relying more on Mother Nature.

Some places are starting to do that. New York City saves hundreds of millions of dollars yearly in water treatment and maintenance by protecting vast, natural watersheds. China plans to build pilot initiatives that recycle rainwater for urban consumption.

Some communities are building artificial wetlands to fight flooding and pollution. Others, like the Indian state of Rajasthan, have adopted more sustainable soil and water management practices that boost harvests and fight drought — growing challenges in the future.

Uhlenbrook says these are important steps. “We have to grow some 50 percent more food in the next 30-40 years. We have to think of how to do that without cutting more forests, cutting more trees and trying to develop more land — which is hardly possible in many places around the world.”

Experts say greener water management can help to increase agricultural production by 20 percent — which may prove key in feeding a global population expected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050.
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German Band Works in Concert With "Robotic" Instruments to Create Music Mix

By Uponsil | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Silicon Valley

German band Joasihno strikes a chord in a unique way as it takes its show on the road.

Currently touring in Canada, the two-man band works in concert with a “robotic” element that can play several instruments at the same time.

“Actually we call it psychedelic robot orchestra,” said Cico Beck, one of the creators of the band. “It’s a combination of acoustic instruments but also very trashy robot instruments,” he added.

Once hooked up to wires and set up, instruments that include a xylophone, drum and cymbal play on their own. Another contraption, a horizontal, self-revolving wooden stick, stands atop a microphone stand. The stick contains long strings tied on each end with a wooden ping pong-sized-ball attached. As the stick rotates, the balls hit a block on the floor, creating a hollow knocking sound.

Beck said a computer is at the heart of the self-playing instruments.

“Most of this stuff is controlled by the computer. The computer can translate voltage signals, so the robots are controlled by the voltage, that is controlled by the computer,” Beck said.

Playing in an experimental band with a robot orchestra is not the same as playing in a traditional one, said Nico Siereg, the other Joasihno member.

WATCH: Robotic orchestra

”It’s a little bit different because you also have in mind that there are machines playing with you, so there’s no reaction from them.”

Siereg said in some ways, once the robots are programmed, he is free to focus on what he is playing and even improvise. The musician said he can envision future scenarios in which technology plays a greater role in creating different types of music; but, he voiced hope that “real music won’t die.”

Even if the robots are not taking over the music world, Beck said it is undeniable that in the 21st century, music and technology are intertwined.

“Technology is like a very important tool that even, very often, it’s also a very important part of inspiration,” he added.

Joasihno performed several shows at the now-concluded music festival and tech conference known as South by Southwest, held in Austin, Texas. The experimental band is hoping its high-tech use of instrumentals will be music to one’s ears.
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German Band Works in Concert With ‘Robotic’ Instruments to Create Music Mix

By Uponsil | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Silicon Valley

German band Joasihno strikes a chord in a unique way as it takes its show on the road.

Currently touring in Canada, the two-man band works in concert with a “robotic” element that can play several instruments at the same time.

“Actually we call it psychedelic robot orchestra,” said Cico Beck, one of the creators of the band. “It’s a combination of acoustic instruments but also very trashy robot instruments,” he added.

Once hooked up to wires and set up, instruments that include a xylophone, drum and cymbal play on their own. Another contraption, a horizontal, self-revolving wooden stick, stands atop a microphone stand. The stick contains long strings tied on each end with a wooden ping pong-sized-ball attached. As the stick rotates, the balls hit a block on the floor, creating a hollow knocking sound.

Beck said a computer is at the heart of the self-playing instruments.

“Most of this stuff is controlled by the computer. The computer can translate voltage signals, so the robots are controlled by the voltage, that is controlled by the computer,” Beck said.

Playing in an experimental band with a robot orchestra is not the same as playing in a traditional one, said Nico Siereg, the other Joasihno member.

WATCH: Robotic orchestra

”It’s a little bit different because you also have in mind that there are machines playing with you, so there’s no reaction from them.”

Siereg said in some ways, once the robots are programmed, he is free to focus on what he is playing and even improvise. The musician said he can envision future scenarios in which technology plays a greater role in creating different types of music; but, he voiced hope that “real music won’t die.”

Even if the robots are not taking over the music world, Beck said it is undeniable that in the 21st century, music and technology are intertwined.

“Technology is like a very important tool that even, very often, it’s also a very important part of inspiration,” he added.

Joasihno performed several shows at the now-concluded music festival and tech conference known as South by Southwest, held in Austin, Texas. The experimental band is hoping its high-tech use of instrumentals will be music to one’s ears.
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Robot Orchestra Creates Otherworldly, Psychedelic Music at SXSW

By Uponsil | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Silicon Valley

The annual music festival and tech conference, South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas just ended. The event brings together tech startups and musicians from around the globe to network and showcase their work. The types of music played at the festival are as diverse as the musicians there. One band from Germany called Joasihno performed at the festival. The group includes two guys and robots as band members. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.
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Facebook’s Zuckerberg Comes Under Fire From UK, US Lawmakers

By Uponsil | 03/19/2018 | No Comments | Silicon Valley

Lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic criticized Facebook and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, after reports surfaced that another company, Cambridge Analytica, improperly harvested information from 50 million Facebook users.

A British lawmaker accused Facebook on Sunday of misleading officials by downplaying the risk of users’ data being shared without their consent.

Conservative legislator Damian Collins, who heads the British Parliament’s media committee, said he would ask Zuckerberg or another Facebook executive to appear before his panel, which is investigating disinformation and “fake news.”

Collins said Facebook has “consistently understated” the risk of data leaks and gave misleading answers to the committee.

“Someone has to take responsibility for this,” he said. “It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to stop hiding behind his Facebook page.”

Collins also accused the head of the U.K.-based data firm Cambridge Analytica, Alexander Nix, of lying. Nix told the committee last month that his firm had not received data from a researcher accused of obtaining millions of Facebook users’ personal information.

In Washington, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said on Twitter that Zuckerberg “needs to testify before Senate Judiciary.”

“This is a major breach that must be investigated,” Klobuchar, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said. “It’s clear these platforms can’t police themselves.”

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, echoed Klobuchar’s complaint.

“This is more evidence that the online political advertising market is essentially the Wild West,” he said. “It’s clear that, left unregulated, this market will continue to be prone to deception and lacking in transparency.”

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said on Twitter that “Massachusetts residents deserve answers” and announced that her office will investigate.

The officials reacted to reports in The New York Times and The Guardian of London that Cambridge Analytica, which is best known for working on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, had improperly obtained Facebook user data and retained it after claiming it had deleted the information.

Former Cambridge Analytica employee Chris Wylie said that the company obtained information from 50 million Facebook users, using it to build psychological profiles so voters could be targeted with ads and stories.

Wylie told Britain’s Channel 4 news that the company was able to amass a huge database very quickly from an app developed by an academic that vacuumed up data from Facebook users who agreed to fill out a survey, as well as their friends and contacts – a process of which most were unaware.

“Imagine I go and ask you: I say, ‘Hey, if I give you a dollar, two dollars, could you fill up this survey for me, just do it on this app’, and you say, ‘Fine,'” he said. “I don’t just capture what your responses are, I capture all of the information about you from Facebook. But also this app then crawls through your social network and captures all of that data also.”

Wylie said that allowed the company to get roughly “50 million plus” Facebook records in several months and he criticized Facebook for facilitating the process.

“Why Facebook didn’t make more inquiries when they started seeing that, you know, tens of millions of records were being pulled this way, I don’t know,” he said.

Lawmaker Collins said he would summon Nix to reappear before the Parliament committee.

“It seems clear that he has deliberately misled the committee and Parliament by giving false statements,” Collins said.
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