In response to an email inquiry by Ars about this data gathering, a Facebook spokesperson replied, “The most important part of apps and services that help you make connections is to make it easy to find the people you want to connect with. So, the first time you sign in on your phone to a messaging or social app, it’s a widely used practice to begin by uploading your phone contacts.”
A widely used practice is something Facebook could have taken a stand on, eons ago, and led the industry, rather hiding under its cover.
As much as the headlines about Facebook having a bad week will continue, it’s amazing how unchecked the whole system was:
If you granted permission to read contacts during Facebook’s installation on Android a few versions ago—specifically before Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)—that permission also granted Facebook access to call and message logs by default. The permission structure was changed in the Android API in version 16. But Android applications could bypass this change if they were written to earlier versions of the API, so Facebook API could continue to gain access to call and SMS data by specifying an earlier Android SDK version. Google deprecated version 4.0 of the Android API in October 2017—the point at which the latest call metadata in Facebook users' data was found.
The issue with such far reaching applications and OS' is that there aren’t—and are unlikely to be anytime soon—overarching regulations that can manage these issues. Even if the US or the EU has stringent privacy regulations that will allow them to penalize Facebook’s entities within their jurisdiction, that’s as far as they’d be able to go.
Six months down the road, where will this situation be? Will Facebook brazen it out through via heres-another-setting-under-privacy-settings? That can be the only real indicator.
You were a phenomal woman who moved mountains for her children & grandchildren. The way you’d share stories of your kids growing up … almost like a child skipping through a garden in excitement. I learnt this week that maybe I’ve inherited my eyes from you…
Why don’t I hear your voice say “Who is it, is that you Chirag” as I walk past the door? Always checking to make sure I’d eaten. Something that hasn’t changed since 9th grade incidentally, when I spent 2 months living alone with you & Nanaji. That time though, you just cooked for me the whole time and turned me into a nice little ball. Things I wanted to eat, and things I didn’t even think of. In many ways, I’m a product of those 2 months, as much as I am a product of your daugther’s hard work, something she entirely learnt from you.
You fought hard I know, and I hope it is nothing but peaceful now.
The last time I heard your voice … you insisted on speaking to me … it was tough to hear you sound like you were giving up. Today, with time, I can reflect on your powerful words … and your belief in me through them.
Thanks to some amazing planning a week in advance, I spent the morning with my hot date. Some tongue may have been involved. #valentinesday #wednesday #mydubai #justanotherday #cleanteeth #teeth #dentist #oral
If you’re a #podcast app developer, do check out the https://podto.org specification by @iamsteadman & @ThePodPlaylist, see a potential to reach Markdown-type acceptance. Would be great to see @overcastfm & others support it.
I’ve switched back to the default mail client after some trouble with Outlook on iOS.
Overcast makes the home screen with podcasts—both listening and creating—taking on a prominence last year.
The social media folder gets a move towards the bottom row for easier thumb access
My recent foray into HomeKit products means Home gets some attention
Apple Pay arriving to my part of the world means the Wallet says hello.
Workout things moved away as I continue to track movement, but open history way less
Been wanting to experiment with Halide all the more
Calculator became a control center action during 2017. The move of control center to the more inconvenient top right has affected this ever so slightly, but I just find myself using Spotlight for basic computation.
I still don’t know why Apple News hasn’t left my home screen.
Hariprasad N joins us to talk about India’s Right to Education (RTE): its flaws, the decline in education quality and the continuting discrimination it propagates.
Full show notes & links are available on the episode page.
3 minutes. The time it takes between entering the house and finding anything—everything—I can dip into @dimasharifonline’s smoked shatta (red chili sauce). The veggies can wait. Brunch plans be damned. #dimasharif #farmersmarket #delicious #red #haandvo #dip #spicy #vegan #chili #shatta
Coal scam: Delhi’s Special CBI court holds former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, former Coal Secy HC Gupta, former Jharkhand Chief Secy Ashok Kumar Basu & one other as guilty of criminal conspiracy & section 120 B. Sentencing to take place tomorrow.
Update, Dec 16: Koda was sentences to three years with two months statutory interim bail. All the other accused were also jailed for three years. A fine of Rs. 25 lakhs was imposed on Koda and Joshi, with Basu & Koda’s aide Vijay Joshi being imposed a fine of Rs. 1 lakh.
Vini Iron & Steel Udyog Ltd (VISUL) was also found guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act and fined Rs. 50 lakhs.
