Data privacy

Breakdown: Silicon Valley privacy caught in a jam

29 Jul 2019

IBM is the latest to call for changes to a 23-year-old law that exempts the likes of YouTube and Facebook from lawsuits over content on their sites. The provision no longer encourages the kind of policing their platforms need. Yet scrapping it wouldn’t solve that, either.

Marriott breach invites data cops to check in

30 Nov 2018

Another 500 mln people now have to worry about identity theft. Hanging onto personal data, protecting it ineffectively and disclosing breaches only slowly are habits in corporate America. It’s not only Google, Facebook and their ilk that merit privacy rules more like Europe’s.

Cathay Pacific typifies data-breach turbulence

25 Oct 2018

The $5 bln Hong Kong airline disclosed unauthorised access to personal details of over 9 mln passengers. It also waited seven months to come clean. Though investors should know by now that hacks can happen anywhere, they leave struggling companies like Cathay more exposed.

Google inadvertently makes case for data crackdown

9 Oct 2018

The search giant kept secret a security hole to avoid regulators’ scrutiny, the Wall Street Journal says. The lack of transparency underlines that such disclosures should be out of managers’ hands. U.S. lawmakers eyeing a law similar to Europe’s GDPR have an extra argument.

U.S. data privacy suffers from too many cooks

26 Sep 2018

Amazon, Apple and other tech executives said a single federal privacy law is needed to avoid fragmented state rules. Different standards also apply to the healthcare and financial industries, while data collection extends beyond tech. Europe has some ideas to offer.

Equifax CEO pick has lesson for Facebook

28 Mar 2018

The hacked $14 bln credit-scorer’s new boss is more technocrat than tech nerd. Then again, Facebook’s poor handling of its data woes suggests having a coding genius in charge is no certain solution. Hiring an outside manager willing to ask tough questions is a step forward.

Equifax can’t even oust its failed CEO effectively

26 Sep 2017

Rick Smith is "retiring," as the euphemism goes, after a massive cyber attack and fumbled response - and with little financial penalty. The interim management plan makes clear the board hadn't planned succession adequately either. Equifax needs regime change at every level.