Ex-spy chief: Facebook may be a threat to democracy

FACEBOOK could threaten democracy unless it is properly regulated, a former spy chief has warned.

Robert Hannigan said yesterday the tech giant was not a “fluffy charity” giving free services, but trying to “squeeze every drop of profit” out of personal data.

Asked if Facebook was a threat to democracy, the ex-head of intelligence station GCHQ to REAL THREAT Robert Hannigan ld the BBC: “Potentially yes, I think it is, if it isn’t controlled and regulated.” He said it could not reform itself and regulation “will have to come from outside”. MPs this week published a cache of Facebook data that appeared to show it was offering firms such as Netflix and Airbnb special deals.

It was seemingly offering access to data on a user’s friends, even after such practices were curtailed in 2015. Facebook said the cache told “only one side of the story”.