Facebook's first-quarter profit plunged 51% to $2.4bn from a year earlier. AP
Facebook's first-quarter profit plunged 51% to $2.4bn from a year earlier. AP
Facebook's first-quarter profit plunged 51% to $2.4bn from a year earlier. AP
Facebook's first-quarter profit plunged 51% to $2.4bn from a year earlier. AP

Technology

Facebook acquired private data of 187,000 through spying app

In a letter sent to a US senator, the social media giant admits to accessing confidential information from 31,000 users in the US and 156,000 in India

Alkesh Sharma
Alkesh Sharma

June 13, 2019

  • English
  • Arabic

Facebook collected confidential details of 187,000 users, some as young as 13, through its now non-operational app Research that paid users secretly for access, TechCrunch reported, citing a letter the social media company sent to a US lawmaker.

In the letter addressed to Senator Richard Blumenthal's office in Connecticut, Facebook admitted to acquiring data of 31,000 users in the United States and 156,000 users in India, the US technology news portal reported.

The Research app, which was launched in 2016, collected data such as web browsing history, encrypted messages and mobile app activity, "potentially also including data from their friends, for competitive analysis", TechCrunch said.

Last year, Facebook faced widespread backlash for paying its users, between the ages of 13 and 35, to install Research which traced private texts, locations and app usage. Users were compensated monthly in the form of gift cards.

Facebook, however, never clearly defined to what degree it would share user information through the app.

Apple was the first to ban Research from its app store. The company said Facebook "violated" its "privacy policies" and cancelled some developer privileges. In reaction, Facebook removed the app from Apple's store in January and later disabled it for Android users as well.

In its defence, Facebook said Research focused only on analytics. "The app did not target any health or financial apps, collect any images or video, or decrypt the vast majority of data being sent by a phone," the company told the senator.

Facebook is also facing criticism for a slew of privacy-related issues, including exposing the passwords of millions of users to its employees.

Last year, the social media giant was embroiled in a scandal related to the 2016 US presidential elections. The British political consulting company, Cambridge Analytica, is said to have mined personal data from millions of Facebook profiles without their consent.This led to US congressional hearings where Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg testified.

Facebook's 2019 first-quarter revenue rose an annual 26 per cent to $15.1 billion (Dh55.46bn) from last year, beating average analyst estimates. However, its net profit plunged about 51 per cent to $2.4bn from the previous year.

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La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Persepolis: Alipour (42'), Mensha (84')

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About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net

Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.

Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.

A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.

Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.

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