Facebook’s emotional manipulation study has shocked many people for its apparent breach of research ethics (700,000 subjects had no idea they were being manipulated), and it has raised the alarm among Europe’s privacy regulators too. As The Register first reported on Tuesday (and I confirmed on Wednesday morning), the UK Information Commissioner intends to speak with Facebook about it, and will also be liaising with his Irish counterpart, who has jurisdiction over Facebook’s activities across Europe. The Irish Data Protection Commissioner said he is awaiting a “comprehensive report” from the social network over privacy issues relating to the study, including consent.
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