What does the Cambridge Analytica scandal teach us? Ditch phones and Facebook

The Cambridge Analytica affair must surely signal the need for much tighter control (nationally and internationally) of ‘social’ media. Some in the computer and IT communities have shown themselves unable to resist the temptations provided by the internet, and so responsible governments and inter-governmental organisations need to step in and regulate. No one wants censorship, but in this case proper oversight needs to be put in place.

In the current case it is particularly shameful that the name of a famous English university town is brought into disrepute in the way it has been, and that a technology – the internet, invented by a distinguished British scientist – is inevitably besmirched. Maybe this is a time to review our whole phone and IT culture, with people increasingly relating more to their computers than other human beings. Reverend Andrew McLuskey Staines Facebook described itself from the outset as “open architecture”. That sufficed to keep me from establishing a relationship with it. A simple solution to the present dilemma would be for those presently on it to drop it.

Gordon Trawick Address supplied Face the music, Mark Where’s Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg? (‘Meanwhile, inquisitors in the US find the Facebook chief is none too talkative’, 21 March) He’s legged it to his pad on the Hawaiian island of Kauai – the place he’s been preparing for when the apocalypse arrives... which seems to have arrived for him. Aw, shucks! Maybe he has a spare room in the basement for Alexander Nix? Robin Le Mare Allithwaite, Cumbria Misfire From your editorial (‘MPs must demand proper answers from Facebook over data scraping’ 21 March): “Any political party that has undertaken targeted online campaigns in the past three or four years might reasonably wonder whether there are smoking guns pointing in their direction.” Surely a smoking gun doesn’t point towards a suspected culprit. The smoke implies that the gun has been used but the culprit is

holding it, and presumably pointing it somewhere else. John Harrison Address supplied

A ban on Steve

With Steve Bannon being interviewed by the Financial Times (‘By giving Steve Bannon a platform, the FT legitimises and validates his existence...’ 21 March), we are unfortunately in a no-win situation. By calling for the talk to be called off, we risk further glorifying Bannon’s unpalatable views – and by allowing them to be aired, we run the risk of planting the seeds of destruction in the next generation. Both sides of the argument you put forth (‘...but holding the powerful and controversial to account is the point of journalism’ 21 March) are persuasive, but again I stress, there can be no winners.

David Murphy Address supplied

Border wars

Your article by Joe Watts (‘Failure on Irish border will bring down Brexit talks, Jonathan Powell warns’ 20 March) referring to the warning given by Jonathan Powell makes mention only of the NI border. The dangers of leaving the single market and customs union surely apply also to Gibraltar where more than 90 per cent of inhabitants wish to remain, but I see little mention of this, either from the press or our politicians. Is no one listening to them?

Patrick Smith Barnsley

In June 2016, campaigning in Northern Ireland during the Brexit referendum campaign, Theresa May warned the electorate – disregarded by her present supporters in the DUP – that it was “inconceivable” that a vote to leave the EU would not have a negative impact on the Irish border, “bringing cost and disruption to trade and to people’s lives”.

The evidence to date suggests this was not simply campaign rhetoric, but represents her fundamental understanding. If so, and she still cannot conceive of an alternative, it seems unlikely that she will come up with a practical solution to the conundrum. Ronald J Hill Dublin

Land of ice and retire

“Iceland is a nation built on volcanoes, and the 10th-century Eldgja lava flood is the island’s largest volcanic eruption in living memory.” (‘Huge volcanic eruption made Vikings turn to God’ 20 March) Iceland’s volcanic eruptions may be very impressive, but it would seem that their impressiveness doesn’t even begin to compare with that of the spectacular longevity of some of Iceland’s inhabitants. D Maughan Brown York

Left in no doubt

W Slater (‘This Government is incompetent’ Letters, 21 March) appears to be an ardent Leaver who is finally coming face to face with the harsh realities of the decision to leave the EU and the position in which the UK finds itself. It appears that he still holds onto the delusions peddled by the Leave campaign: that we can have our cake and eat it too, that an independent UK is so much more powerful than the EU, that the

EU will buckle to our every demand, that trade deals by the bucket load will have been negotiated by now, that the German car industry will pressurise the EU to give way to the UK, and that the UK will get everything promised by the Leave campaign (no doubt including £350m a week for the NHS). I could go on...

How difficult it must be for him to see all those promises turned to ashes and to have to face up to reality after having been so misinformed for so long. Accusing the EU of not negotiating is especially rich! What about the UK’s red lines – are they negotiation? Or UK ultimatums to the EU? The EU’s offer is limited because of those red lines. The EU is not being difficult – it is merely protecting its stated interests as every organisation does. John Harvey Bristol

Driving me potty

As a professional driver of many years, I can attest that the UK roads are in the worst condition that I have ever seen. The road surfaces are pitted, and suspension-crunching and tyre-bursting potholes are commonplace. The Government must realise that roads are the lifeblood of this country, with 90 per cent of all passenger journeys and 90 per cent of freight movement being made by road.

However, government spending does not reflect the importance of roads to the UK, with spending being constant at approximately £10bn a year for over 10 years to maintain 250,000 miles of road. The Government raises directly and indirectly £50bn in taxes from road users, of which £40bn is direct input to the Treasury, whilst rail users, who pay no tax, cost the country more than £14bn to subsidise the usage of just 10,000 miles of railway track.

Road users are getting a miserable deal, with some of the highest taxes in Europe, and in return they get poorly maintained, congested roads and endless traffic jams – which are costing the UK £10bn annually. Private road users are being milked to support other transport, and if they are contributing so much in taxes the very least they should expect is well-maintained roads.

Mike Haville Southam