Facebook faces $660,000 fine in UK for data leak
London, July 11 : UK's data protection watchdog plans to slap a fine of 500,000 pounds ($662,501) on Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal. This is the highest permitted fine under Britain's data protection law.
In its investigation, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found that Facebook broke British law by failing to safeguard people's information, and by not revealing how people's data was harvested by others.
Along with Cambridge Analytica, Facebook has been the focus of the investigation since February when evidence emerged that an app had been used to harvest the data of an estimated 87 million Facebook users across the world.
In its latest progress report, the regulator also said it intended to take criminal action against Cambridge Analytica's defunct parent company SCL Elections, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
The regulator also said Aggregate IQ -- which worked with the Vote Leave campaign -- must stop processing UK citizens' data. It has also written to UK's 11 main political parties compelling them to have their data protection practices audited.
This, the Information Commissioner's Office explained, was in part because it was concerned they could have bought lifestyle information about members of the public from data brokers, who might have not obtained the necessary consent.
In particular, ICO raised concern about one data broker: Emma's Diary. The firm offers medical advice to pregnant women and gift packs after babies are born.
ICO said it was concerned about how transparent the firm had been about its political activities. The Labour Party had confirmed using the firm, but did not provide other details at this point beyond saying it intended to take some form of regulatory action.
The service's owner Lifecycle Marketing could not be reached for comment. But it has told the Guardian that it does not agree with the ICO's findings.
The ICO's action comes 16 months after it began the ongoing probe into political campaigns' use of personal data during the Brexit referendum campaign.
Over the period, it emerged that Facebook had failed to ensure that Cambridge Analytica had deleted personal data harvested about millions of its members in breach of the platform's rules.
Before its collapse, Cambridge Analytica insisted it had indeed wiped the data after Facebook's erasure request in December 2015.
But ICO said it had seen evidence that copies of the data had been shared with others.
"This potentially brings into question the accuracy of the deletion certificates provided to Facebook," it said.
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Gadag murders: Accused paid 'supari' to kill brother, parents over property, says police
Gadag (PTI): Police here on Monday claimed to have cracked the murder of four persons with the arrest of a gang including the kingpin, who wanted his brother and parents dead over a suspected property dispute and hired the assailants for cash to eliminate them.
The arrested included members of the 'supari' (contract) gang that was hired by Vinayak Bakale, who paid Rs 65 lakh to kill his brother Kartik and parents-- Prakash Bakale and Sunanda Bakale.
Prakash and Sunanda are local BJP functionaries, with the latter being the vice-president of Gadag-Betageri City Municipal Council.
However, the plot went awry and Vinayak's parents survived. Karthik and the family’s close relatives were hacked to death in the early hours of April 19.
Karthik (27), Parashuram Hadimani (55), Lakshmi Hadimani (45) and Akanksha Hadimani (16) were found murdered at Dasara Oni in Gadag.
Police sources said Karthik's marriage had been fixed, which the Hadimanis had come to attend.
Since jewellery, valuables and cash were intact in the house, it was suspected that the motive was not robbery but something else, police sources said.
They said that a property dispute among the siblings was suspected to be the reason behind the murder as Prakash was to give all his wealth to Karthik, which irked Vinayak. Subsequently, he allegedly decided to wipe out his parents and brother.
On Monday, Inspector General of Police (North Zone) Vikash Kumar Vikash told reporters that they had arrested Vinayak Prakash Bakale (35), Fairoz Khazi (29), Jishan Khazi (24), all from Gadag; twin brothers Sahil Ashfaq Khazi (19), Sohail Ashfaq Khazi (19), Sultan Jilani Sheikh (23), Mahesh Jagannath Salunke (21) and Waheed Liyaqat Bepari (21), all from Miraj in Sangli district of Maharashtra.
Vinayak had given a Rs 65 lakh contract to Fairoz, who arranged vehicles and weapons and carried out surveillance, Kumar said.
The assailants broke into the house thinking only three people were present, the IGP said, adding that the targets were Vinayak’s parents and brother.
The agreement between Vinayak and the gang was that the proceeds of the loot after killing the trio would belong to the contract killers.
"Vinayak gave the contract to eliminate his parents and brother Karthik. Fairoz organised the entire gang. It was a short term plan. But as Prakash Bakale raised an alarm, the panicked assailants fled the spot. Otherwise he also was a target," Vikash said.
He said that four of the accused were caught in Miraj while others were nabbed in Gadag.
The police officer said Vinayak tried to escape when he was caught.
