Facebook stock plunges 6% after FTC launches probe of data scandal

CNBC ^

[bryan999]

Shares of Facebook cratered 6 percent Monday after the Federal Trade Commission announced it is investigating the company's data practices in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica leak of 50 million users' information.

"The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook. Today, the FTC is confirming that it has an open non-public investigation into these practices," the agency said in a statement.

The FTC declined to confirm last week that it was investigating Facebook, including whether it violated a consent decree the tech company signed with the agency in 2011.

The decree required that Facebook notify users and receive explicit permission before sharing personal data beyond their specified privacy settings.

A violation of the consent decree could carry a penalty of $40,000 per violation.

[Liz]

It is entirely possible that Facebook may have committed federal offenses, including, but not limited to:

<><> Title 18 U.S.C. §1341, Mail Fraud, 18 U.S.C.§1001, Presenting a False Document to an Agent of the US Government for funding (may involve several felonies and could include forgery);

<><> 18 U.S.C.§1027 False statements and concealment of facts in relation to documents required by ERISA enacted 1974 and other possible offenses including civil and/or criminal RICO violations.

<><> 18 U.S.C. §§1961-68 (RICO Act)18 U.S.C. §1001 (making false Statements to Agents of the US Government,

<><> 18 U.S.C. §241(Conspiracies Against Civil Rights). Violation of Civil Rights under Color of law and conspiracy. Conspiring with others to violate Facebook users 4th amendment rights.

<><> Possibly full investigations centering on RICO conspiracies under 18 U.S.C. §1962(c) could be warranted because (1) the persons (2) were employed by or associated with a public enterprise (3) that engaged in or affected interstate commerce and that (4) the persons operated or managed the enterprise (5) through a “pattern” (6) of racketeering activity, and (7) the taxpayers were injured by reason of the “pattern” of racketeering activity.

<><> Alleged Offenses could include Violation of Rights – which prohibits in relevant part, “two or more persons (from conspiring) to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District

<><> Title 18 U.S.C. §2 41 – Conspiracy Against Constitutional mandates in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of having so exercised the same . . .” See, 18 U.S.C. §241.

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Taxpayers demand the following agencies commence investigations of Facebook activities at once:

<><> FBI — Wire Fraud Division

<><> IRS-Fraud Unit

<><> Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General,

<><> Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General.

<><> DOJ’s Criminal Division— Public Integrity Section

<><> DOJ Criminal Division—Organized Crime and Gang Section.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks.

[The Toll]

This happens after 6 days of anti-Trump hysteria and yet Hillary is still walking around free?

[Grampa Dave]

What a great and positive way to look at this!

I don't know either, but I am certainly enjoying it.

[Mr. K]

REMINDER! ZUCKERBERG WOULD BE A HERO IF THE EXACT SAME THING HELPED HILLIARY TO WIN

[Liz]

The IRS continues to uncover abusive tax-avoidance schemes involving offshore activity. Information here pertains to an investigation of Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS).

<><> conspiring to defraud the IRS by concealing millions of dollars in assets and income in offshore bank accounts at UBS and other foreign banks, and for filing false individual income tax

<><> attempting to interfere with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws and filing false tax returns.

<><>conspiracy to defraud the government

<><>failing to disclose secret offshore bank accounts

<><> willfully failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) for an account he controlled at UBS in the year 2005.

<><> concealed a bank account at UBS by placing his domestic assets in the name of a nominee and failing to file income tax returns

<><>concealing over $750,000 in a UBS account by transferring ownership of the account to a nominee Panamanian corporation.

<><> failed to report a UBS account containing $900,000. Between 2000 and 2008, Chatfield transferred the $900,000 through several offshore accounts of nominee entities.

<><> individual owned and controlled a financial account at UBS AG which was in the name of a Bahamian entity and failed to report interest income earned on his tax returns.

<><> conspiring with a family member to hide over $11 million in an offshore UBS bank account......assisted in establishing a sham foundation in Liechtenstein to further conceal money from the IRS.

<><>conspiracy to defraud the IRS, filing false tax returns, and failing to file Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Accounts (FBARs). Goldstein is alleged to have transferred over $2 million in a UBS account to a sham Panamanian corporation in an effort to conceal the account from the IRS.

<><>failing to comply with foreign bank account reporting requirements. UBS bankers assisted Rudolph with creating a shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands and a shell corporation registered in Hong Kong in hiding in excess of $1 million.

<><>set up a sham Hong Kong corporation which was listed as the holder of an UBS account in an effort to conceal his income from the IRS. This account and offshore accounts collectively contained almost $42 million in unreported income.

<><> guilty to filing a false tax return wherein he failed to report his interest in or signature authority over financial accounts at UBS

<><>failed to disclose the existence of a Swiss bank account maintained by UBS of which he was the beneficial owner and failed to report any income earned on that account.

https://www.irs.gov/uac/offshore-tax-avoidance-and-irs-compliance-efforts

[bgill]

Hope it falls 60% sending Zuker into bankruptcy.

[Qiviut]

Check out the video at this link - Tucker Carlson interviewing Dr. Robert Eptstein .... he has some very alarming research results regarding Google.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/03/24/dr-robert-epstein-discusses-the-battle-for-your-mind/

[butlerweave]

Facebook has taken out full-page ads to apologize for their latest user data scandal and later this week Zuckerberg will announce he’s going to Rehab for something

[crz]

He wont go into bankruptcy, but his corporation will. He will/is cashing out and will walk away.

Then he will either start a new scam or will simply stay hidden.

[Empireoftheatom48]

Trying to delete my Facebook account, I can’t even get into the manage my account section.

[Political Junkie Too]

I still do not understand why this is such a big deal when 0bama did exactly the same thing...

Here is my question... Was this really exactly the same thing?

I assume that the Trump campaign paid Cambridge Analytica for their data analysis services.

Did the Obama campaigns pay Facebook for their data, or did Facebook make it an "in-kind donation" to the Obama campaign?

-PJ

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I guess that is a legit question. However the current controversy seems to be over “privacy” and the use of data users believed were private, laughable as that prospect may be. At least as I see/understand it, which I acknowledge is very sketchy.

Next week when the task will be to bamboozle as many people as possible, the controversy could certainly morph into what you posit.

[mad_as_he$$]

50 million user(s) data X $40,000 = a big beautiful wall. ;-)

[Chode]

oh HELL yeah...

[Vaduz]

Well stated

[Political Junkie Too]

Next week when the task will be to bamboozle as many people as possible, the controversy could certainly morph into what you posit.

Hee-hee...

It didn't take two days!

Did Facebook Break The Law To Help Obama Win In 2012?

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Facebook now faces myriad legal actions for its apparent misuse of private data on its members. But one possible legal problem that isn't getting any attention involves whether Facebook (FB) made, and the Obama campaign accepted, illegal "in-kind" contributions to Obama's 2012 re-election effort.

As we noted earlier, the Obama campaign's use of Facebook data dwarfed anything Trump did. Cambridge Analytica purchased data from an academic, who gathered it in 2014 through an app that said the data would only be used for academic purposes.

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-PJ