Bug unblocked people from 800,000 users' list: Facebook
San Francisco, July 3 : In yet another privacy goof-up, Facebook has admitted that over 800,000 users were affected by a bug on its platform and Messenger that unblocked some people these users had blocked.
The bug was active between May 29 and June 5 -- and while someone who was unblocked could not see content shared with friends, they could have seen things posted to a wider audience, said Facebook.
"For example pictures shared with friends of friends. We know that the ability to block someone is important -- and we'd like to apologise and explain what happened," Erin Egan, Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.
When you block someone on Facebook, they cannot see things you post on your profile, start conversations with you on Messenger or add you as a friend. Blocking also automatically unfriends them if you were previously friends.
"In the case of this bug, it did not reinstate any friend connections that had been severed," Egan said.
Nearly 83 per cent of people affected by the bug had only one person they had blocked temporarily unblocked. Someone who was unblocked might have been able to contact people on Messenger who had blocked them, Facebook noted.
The company said the issue has now been fixed and everyone has been blocked again. "People who were affected will get a notification on Facebook encouraging them to check their blocked list," the company said.
Facebook has already been grappling with privacy issues like the Cambridge Analytica data scandal involving 87 million users and another bug that changed 14 million users' privacy setting defaults to public.
"While 800,000 people is just a tiny fraction of the 2.2 billion Facebook user base, that is still a sizable number of affected users who may have been subject to concerning episodes," The Verge reported.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Punjab: CBI arrests 3 men in Rs 13-lakh bribery case involving Vigilance dept after midnight chase
New Delhi (PTI): In a late-night raid at the Punjab Vigilance office in Mohali followed by a dramatic chase, the CBI arrested two middlemen and another person in a Rs 13-lakh bribery case involving senior officers of the department, officials said.
The CBI took the action after registering an FIR on a complaint of a Punjab State Tax Officer, who had accused Vikas Goyal and his son Raghav Goyal of demanding illegal gratification of Rs 20 Lakh for securing the closure of a complaint against him in the office of DG (Vigilance), Punjab.
"Further, it was alleged that both the accused were acting as intermediaries for senior Vigilance officials including the Reader to DGP Vigilance, Punjab and were using their influence to assure the complainant that his matter could be settled. O. P. Rana, the reader to DG Vigilance assured him for closure of the complaint once illegal gratification is paid," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.
Prima facie, the investigation reveals active involvement of Rana in the conspiracy, she said.
According to the statement, during negotiations, the accused reduced the demand from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 13 lakh along with one Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 mobile phone for Rana.
After getting confirmation about the bribe exchange, a CBI team raided a place in Chandigarh, where an associate of the accused, Ankit Wadhwa, was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs 13 lakh and a mobile phone on their behalf, the spokesperson said.
"The bribe amount and mobile phone were recovered during the trap proceedings," the statement read.
As it happened, Raghav Goyal, Vikas Goyal, and Rana ran away after being alerted by their gunmen stationed there to keep a watch.
The CBI team began a hot pursuit and after a dramatic chase, nabbed Raghav, Vikas and apprehended two gunmen near Ambala at the Punjab-Haryana border, the spokesperson said.
"Rana, reader to DGP Vigilance, is still absconding and efforts are being made to arrest him," she said.
Searches at the residential premises of Goyals at Malout and Rana at Chandigarh, led to recovery of Rs 9 lakh in cash and incriminating documents, the spokesperson said.
The CBI investigation exposed an exchange of "sensitive information" relating to pending vigilance matters between Rana and Goyals.
"The wider conspiracy, including possible illegal gratification nexus and the role of other persons, is under investigation. The accused private persons were given police gunmen officially. The role and attachment of Punjab Police gunmen carrying AK-47 rifles with the private accused persons is also being examined," the spokesperson said.
