Facebook bug aired private posts
NEWYORK —Facebook said a software bug led some users to post publicly by default regardless of previous settings. The bug, which Facebook said it has fixed, affected as many as 14 million users over several days in May.
The problem is the latest privacy scandal for the world’s largest social media company.
It said the bug automatically suggested that users make new posts public, even if they had previously restricted posts to “friends only” or another private setting. If users did not notice the default suggestion, they unwittingly sent the posts to a broader audience than they had intended.
Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer, said the bug did not affect past posts. Facebook is notifying users who were affected and posted publicly while the bug was active, advising them to review their posts.
The news follows recent furor over Facebook’s sharing of user data with device makers. The company is also still recovering from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which a Trump-affiliated data-mining firm got access to the personal data of as many as 87 million Facebook users.
Police kill armed man
CHICAGO— A Chicago police officer fatally shot a 24-year-old black man who authorities said pulled a gun while running away, prompting questions from the man’s family about why the encounter turned deadly.
Sgt. Rocco Alioto said the “armed confrontation” Wednesday evening on the city’s South Side happened as officers conducted a narcotics investigation. He said Maurice Granton Jr. fled on foot when officers approached. Mr. Alioto said in a statement that officers told the man to stop and he “produced a weapon,” so the officer shot him in the back.
Plans for Guantanamo
GUANTANAMOBAY NAVALBASE, Cuba — President Donald Trump’s order in January to keep the Guantanamo jail open, and allow the Pentagon to bring new prisoners there, is prompting military officials to consider a future for the facility that the Obama administration sought to close.
The Pentagon was investing in upgrades at the Navy base under President Barack Obama, whose push to shutter the detention center couldn’t overcome opposition in Congress. But those projects, including the $150 million barracks, were funded with the understanding that they could be used by personnel of the Navy base that hosts the detention center. Now they are viewed as part of an effort to be able to operate the prison for many years to come.
Also in the nation ...
The Pentagon plans to release a Saudi-American dual citizen whom it accused of being a member of the Islamic State terrorist group at an undisclosed location in Syria, a move that his lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union have called “a death warrant.” ... Baltimore’s former Gun Trace Task Force Sgt. Wayne Jenkins was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in federal prison for his role in a stunning range of crimes while serving that city’s police department.