Hi everyone,

Hope all of your exam seasons are going well so far! Found an article (link at the bottom) that details some of the recent news concerning the latest Facebook data breach from a couple weeks ago , and more specifically how it relates to the company’s GDPR (non) compliance. While the breach occurred at/extended into a time when the GDPR was fully active, Facebook made no disclosure of the incident to the Irish Data Protection Commission, which recently opened an investigation into the leak. As I mentioned in my presentation, the GDPR includes data breach notification requirements under which data controllers must notify the relevant regulatory authorities if they believe it is likely to constitute a risk to users’ rights and freedoms (and must do so without undue delay).

Knowing that a breach entails these legal obligations, Facebook has avoided describing the incident as such, and has downplayed the significance of the leaked information by essentially attempting to shift some of the blame to users for leaving Facebook’s default privacy settings in place, thereby making the leaked information “publicly available” in the first place and thus uncovered by the GDPR. However, even if this is true (article implies that it might not be), the GDPR still requires controllers to apply privacy by design and to adequately secure personal data; Facebook’s compliance with both of these requirements seems pretty questionable here. This article and situation raise pretty big questions about how Facebook needs to deal with incidents like this in the future, which seem inevitable due to Facebook’s demonstrated approach to privacy and GDPR compliance.

Facebook’s tardy disclosure of breach timing raises GDPR compliance questions

Hi everyone,

I came across this article about how big tech’s next communications tug-of-war is happening at an extraterrestrial level: https://www.geekwire.com/2021/critics-take-aim-spacex-starlink-amazon-kuiper-satellite-constellations/

I’m not clued into this subject enough to offer expert insights, but to me, it seems like big tech’s new race for satellite communications dominance could take our discussions about communications conglomerates’ antitrust concerns from a largely national (e.g., Shaw/Rogers, Disney/ESPN) scale to a truly global one. From what I understand, the market for residential satellite internet is still relatively limited.

If you’re curious, early reviews of Starlink are starting to come in, and they’ve been quite positive so far. Here are some impressions from a cybersecurity expert: https://www.inverse.com/innovation/spacex-starlink-beta-impressions

Have a great weekend!

Hello class,

Shaw Communications Inc. has decided not to participate in the June 15 auction of the 3,500-megahertz spectrum which are airwaves used to deliver wireless signals. This may open more opportunities for smaller telecommunication companies to compete in the 5G market. This decision may be due to the fact that Shaw has struck an acquisition deal with Rogers Communications Inc., thus barring Shaw from participating in the auction against Rogers. This may prove to be beneficial for consumers. As we may all be aware, phone and/or data plans have steadily been more expensive. Smaller companies, having less competition in entering the 5G market, may offer more affordable data/phone plans or at the very least, consumers will have more variety in choosing an affordable 5G plan.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-shaw-opts-out-of-key-spectrum-auction-amid-rogers-takeover/