‘Wild West’ era for tech giants like Facebook and Google is OVER, minister warns
The stark warning comes after claims the details of 50 million Facebook users had been improperly used for political analysis
THE ‘Wild West’ era for technology firms like Facebook and Google is over, the Cabinet minister responsible for overseeing them warns today.
Following claims that the details of 50 million Facebook users had been improperly harvested for political analysis, tech giants will face much greater regulation to control their use of people’s data.
Minister Matt Hancock said the Government will put “rules in place so that tech can be harnessed for the good of the people”, adding that “the Wild West for tech companies is over”.
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's comments were made in an interview for
Mr Hancock added: “Freedom operates within a framework.
“The liberal values of cherishing freedom whilst protecting the freedom of others is the new approach we’re taking and the argument we’re making in the UK is getting global resonance.”
The warning comes as MPs demanded Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg explain how the social media giant allowed British firm Cambridge Analytica to harvest the details of 50 million users in 2014.
The firm has been accused of using users' data improperly while working as political analysts for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and the Brexit referendum.
It was alleged one of the largest data leaks in Facebook history allowed Cambridge Analytica, which had ties to Trump campaign strategist Steve Bannon, to "use tools that could identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behaviour" during the campaign.
The company has surfaced in the U.S. probes into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and British officials are also investigating the firm in connection with the June 2016 EU referendum.
The firm described the accusations made by a whistle-blower to The Guardian and New York Times as “pure fantasy”.
Yesterday Damian Collins, the chairman of the digital, culture, media and sport committee, said Mr Zuckerberg should “stop hiding behind his Facebook page” and answer questions.
Mr Collins said his committee had “repeatedly asked” Facebook about how companies acquire and hold on to user data from the site, and whether information had been taken from people without their consent.
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Facebook said last night it was conducting a review of the incident and investigating ties between an employee and Cambridge Analytica.
Mr Hancock says governments have not been able to keep pace with rapid technological change and the “break things fast, then fix them” attitude needs to change as very young companies quickly become the biggest on the planet, holding huge amounts of data on billions of people.
“The tech industry grew up with a libertarian attitude that the government should just get out of the way because connecting people would improve lives,” he says.
“And for the vast majority of people that is true. But it isn’t true for everybody."
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