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We Can't Trust Facebook To Regulate Itself, Says Former Operations Manager (nytimes.com)
schwit1 shares an op-ed on the New York Times by Sandy Parakilas, a former operations manager on the platform team at Facebook: Sandy Parakilas led Facebook's efforts to fix privacy problems on its developer platform in advance of its 2012 initial public offering. What I saw from the inside was a company that prioritized data collection from its users over protecting them from abuse. As the world contemplates what to do about Facebook in the wake of its role in Russia's election meddling, it must consider this history. Lawmakers shouldn't allow Facebook to regulate itself. Because it won't (Editor's note: the link could be paywalled; alternative source). Facebook knows what you look like, your location, who your friends are, your interests, if you're in a relationship or not, and what other pages you look at on the web. This data allows advertisers to target the more than one billion Facebook visitors a day. It's no wonder the company has ballooned in size to a $500 billion behemoth in the five years since its I.P.O. The more data it has on offer, the more value it creates for advertisers. That means it has no incentive to police the collection or use of that data -- except when negative press or regulators are involved. Facebook is free to do almost whatever it wants with your personal information, and has no reason to put safeguards in place. The company just wanted negative stories to stop. It didn't really care how the data was used. Facebook took the same approach to this investigation as the one I observed during my tenure: react only when the press or regulators make something an issue, and avoid any changes that would hurt the business of collecting and selling data. This makes for a dangerous mix: a company that reaches most of the country every day and has the most detailed set of personal data ever assembled, but has no incentive to prevent abuse. Facebook needs to be regulated more tightly, or broken up so that no single entity controls all of its data. The company won't protect us by itself, and nothing less than our democracy is at stake.
We Can't Trust Facebook. You could have just stopped there.
Sent from my TARDIS
In a neutral sense, this is fine. Everybody likes to be like.
It is the approaches which companies like Google and Facebook take to stop negative stories (censorship, demonizing dissenting voices, commissioning hit pieces, play along with the MSM's agendas) that scare me.
It's too late. We're already at idiocracy, as evidenced by most of the posts here at slashdot.
Water is wet!
To quote Homer (Simpson)
D'oh!
Anybody who thinks Facebook doesn't have the opportunity and means to abuse this data is either a fool or willfully ignorant (otherwise known as your congress critter).
Christ, how the fuck you ended up rambling onto the election is straight nuts and has zero to do with this. Step away from the phone and put down the fox news.
>The more data it has on offer, the more value it creates for advertisers. That means it has no incentive to police the collection or use of that data -- except when negative press or regulators are involved
That's what this is about. Nothing partisan whatsoever, go troll somewhere else.
I can't trust anyone who brings up a problem this country has had for 10+ years and connects it to Trump. It makes me wonder what reality distortion field they've been living in and why Trump some how snapped them out of it. Real talk. Why would I want to align myself with someone who is just going to forget the issue exists next time a Democrat gets into the White House? As a non-partisan, both sides just drive me nuts with this relativistic bullshit. How can we fix anything when a large percentage of the voters stop caring about the issues every 8 years, because their party can do no wrong.
Facebook can be trusted with information like teenagers can be trusted with car keys and alcohol.
Lock Zuckerberg up.
Corporatism != Free Market
Take a moment, if you will, to compare the two:
Facebook knows what you look like
Facebook knows your location
Facebook knows who your friends are
Facebook knows your interests
Facebook knows if you're in a relationship or not
He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
There is but one inescapable conclusion: Mark Zuckerberg is Santa Claus .
#DeleteFacebook
Something that "Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley" makes clear when Facebook set up their advertising system.
Facebook's entire business model is to sell targeted advertising. That requires huge amounts of data to be collected on its users. Asking Facebook to "regulate" itself by limiting the information it collects is akin to asking it to limit how much profit they make. It ain't going to happen.
When someone uses that phrase, they are implicitly suggesting that you agree that X needs to be regulated.
>> That means it has no incentive to police the collection or use of that data -- except when negative press or regulators are involved
I think you forgot about legal recourse. A couple of civil class action lawsuits could also alter behavior. There's also the possibility that people will leave Facebook en masse (and it may already be happening for anyone under 30 - I know my kid's Facebook accounts are not where they are on social media), leaving Facebook with a lock on GenX/Boomers only.
>> Facebook needs to be regulated more tightly, or broken up so that no single entity controls all of its data.
I hope you realize that your two suggestions are at odds: one would keep all your browsing in one AlGore-quality lock-box, regulated by a government privacy agency (heh), while the other would scatter copies of all your browsing to many entities who would each develop their own slightly-imperfect picture of you. Also, I hope you understand that the real situation is really pretty close to #2 today.
Personally, I'd rather keep regulators OUT of the picture and let Facebook live or die organically; otherwise, I could see a system where regulators keep Facebook propped up twenty years from now because they are the officially-approved gold-star social media provider.
This is how cloud works. You turn over all your data to some centralized entity so that you can access it conveniently from all your mobile devices. What many do not realize, is that by doing that you have turned over all control over your data as well. The cloud decides who, when, where, and how the data can be accessed. The current IoT architecture (which is completely wrong in my opinion) does the exact same thing. It shovels all the details of your private life to the real owners of the data (the company who sold you the device) and holds it hostage. Hackers now have one target for a treasure trove of information. Subscriptions and other fees can be tacked on at a whim. But most importantly, all your data is now available to the highest bidder. It is time for the pendulum to start swinging the other way back to a decentralized web where not only computing but storage happens at the edge.
The number of Russian shitposters on this and other tech sites aren't going down either. How about Slashdot starts looking into these VPNed users from Macedonia and Russia who can't stop spamming RT/Sputnik talking points?
Maybe one will show up in this very thread to incoherently ramble about the DNC in poorly translated English?
Trump has called out Facebook for pushing an agenda and censoring content thatâ(TM)s not liberal.
He canâ(TM)t force and investigation since thatâ(TM)s not his job. Now, if nothing else happens after that itâ(TM)s because the âoeresistâ crowd wonâ(TM)t back him up on anything just out of spite.
And youâ(TM)re right. Next time Democrats are in power this issue will never be mentioned again plus itâ(TM)ll get worse because it favors them.
Keep voting Democrat though. Theyâ(TM)re the better people or something.
Of course, a mega-business such as Facebook can be trusted to self-regulate. That's just common sense. Why look at the sterling examples of self-regulating mega-businesses that provide a 100% consumer friendly and beneficial experience: Exxon, Monsanto, Microsoft, Philip-Morris, BP, EpiPen, VW, Ford, General Motors, et al. For sterling examples within the USA Federal Government, just look at the wonderful self-governing agencies and bureaus: IRS, NSA, FBI, DOJ, DOS, DOD, Congress (the best example of enlightened self-regulation), FCC, the Judicial System, et al. We have lots of examples to assure every user and citizen that Facebook is eminently able to provide self-regulation that will suit and benefit the Public 100% /sarc
Who regulates it then? This isn't the government's job. We have sane libertarians in charge, and they are not going to throw the economy into a tailspin by stomping on an engine of growth.
Best thing to do is let the free market sort it out. Don't like FB? Use mewe, G+, or a slew of other social networks.
... in the hen house.
And neither is the Lovecraftian Nyarlathotep kraken in the human house.
.... was 5 million Libertarians shrieking.
This is yet another call for censorship.
-1 Overrated... And the moderators are answering the call! en masse... Yes, for them the 1st amendment is indeed overrated, and actually quite dangerous. We shouldn't let filthy lowlifes speak! They must conform or die!
Yes it is stupid, to go to a dark park at night in a minimal dress, and make moaning noises because youbare drunk, while bending over.
That doesn't mean it's not the rapist doing the raping!
Also, I *want* a world where I can go to a park at night, be completely naked, maybe even have sex, and not be harassed by active perverts (like rapists) nor by passive perverts (aka the ones assuming you are a pervert when you do not give a shit about them because that is how *their* mind works).
It does not need to be regulated if people would stop using it already. It is abundantly clear at this stage of the game that it is not good for you neither for society.
Stop using it. Block its trackers block its IP ranges. You will be happier in the end and better off.
Lawmakers shouldn't allow Facebook to regulate itself. Because it won't.
Just like Wall Street and the banks back in 2007 who repeatedly told us they knew what they were doing and that any additional regulations would stifle their competitiveness on the world. Don't regulate me bro!
We saw how "self-regulation" worked out for them.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
But...
Facebook knows what you look like,
No, it does not.
your location,
Sort of.
who your friends are,
No.
your interests,
Certainly not all of them.
if you're in a relationship or not,
They can guess, but so can anyone.
and what other pages you look at on the web.
Absolutely not. That said, keeping this information from Facebook isn't easy, and it takes skills that "ordinary" people don't have. So yes, Facebook needs to be put on a leash.
Nothing requires you to have a Facebook account. Just delete it. Problem solved.
Or we can because the average person was an idiot before Facefarm. They knew and know their customer base and exploit it. You have a million other options for free speech without it and you get to keep your dignity.
shut down facebook, close their offices, and fire all the employees, confiscate all their computers and pull and shred all the harddrives, put up a server with the facebook domain with a page that says "facebook is closed, now go outside and get some fresh air and exercise"
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
What is the exact use of the data that's abusive?
The only negative press I recall was the widening privacy circle. The abuse channel I'm most concerned about is "API access" through apps like Farmville or Medium. If Facebook themselves used data in an egregious way, they would suffer in press and regulators, but if they arrange flows of PII to shady third-party developers they can wash their hands of it. This is also Google's and Apple's main problem, through Android and iOS.
Specific abuses I'm concerned about:
- excessive control of political discussion through banning people
- collapsing pseudonymous identities (like your "permanent record" at Uber)
- price discrimination
- selling data to governments, in particular social graph or co-presence data
- employment discrimination
What abusive things has Facebook done so far with their data? What would regulation help, and how---what specific regulation do you want?
The ominous "imagine what they could do" crap is played out. This discussion is old and has been going nowhere and needs to get a lot more specific now.
Just who is this omniscient and benevolent "We" here? Why TF is this blatant power-grab of other people's property not flamed to death by the outraged Slashdotters? Where are the supposed "anti-Fascists", when Fascism is marching on in the guise of "sensible regulations"?
Facebook is not a government agency to merit the concern of taxpayers — it is a business. They are neither vitally important for human survival (like food or medicine), nor are they poisoning rivers, etc. — so the usual excuses to "sensibly regulate" do not apply. Unless you are a stock-holder, back off!
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
You put all that info out in the world and now you don't want to deal with the fact that it's out there? Why would you think any info you dump would be regulated in any way? Stop using a megaphone like Facebook if you don't like it.
NT.
No, you teach the damn public to toughen the fuck up! If you cater to the weaklings, the whole world become weak and dependent on you. Education is the key, not constraint. Facebook is doing nothing wrong. Everything they do is consensual. Ignorance is no excuse. You should always go in expecting the worst. Otherwise stay away. If you want to hide, stay in the closet. Nobody cares.
Another stupid fuck with no grasp on how the Bill of Rights actually works.
Good job, simpleton!
... I keep getting a surprised response when I say I don't have a Facebook account. They give me a look like "Oh, your one of THOSE people."
Where's the freakin' edit button? [sigh]
Their time is limited.
If you have kids, do everything in your power to make them hate it more. Simply saying it is cool and use it yourself usually does the trick.
I don't CARE how it works! All censorship must be defeated, by any means possible. Since the law is worthless, we need a technical means of protecting our rights. Fuck the "regulators". They are fascist nazis! All censors are!
And now I need to find out how the spammers circumvent the posting limits I am subject to.
Too late - too big!
Tell us how there are bad people on both sides, please.
That "Nazi" is used in your example, and that it's a credible example, is probably not a good thing.
A private company can censor whatever the hell it wants on it's systems, and FFS, I would hope Nazi's are a thing they censor.
FYI, the alt-right has started their own version of twitter and everything else, so they're rights are doing just fine.
Well, like so many do, you read it exactly backwards. I'm actually defending facebook against outside regulation. It's the idiot users that need to regulate themselves. Facebook is completely within its rights to use voluntarily given data as it sees fit. If the users want privacy, they should just clam up!
Why is Apple slightly less on the privacy-sucking radar (for most folks) -- battles with the FBI over the Secure Enclave notwithstanding? Because they aren't an advertising company and don't have a vested interest in prioritizing data collection on users over all else. (FWIW, neither is Microsoft, which makes the outcry over low-level telemetry stuff in Windows 10 here seem way over-blown.)
Facebook and, probably more importantly, Google, control 90% of all advertising on the web. With the crater-like decline in print advertising, and the in-progress collapse in traditional OTA and cable non-Tivo'd television (meaning broadcast, non-microtargeted) viewership, this is a HUGE chunk of National revenue combined with a HUGE chunk of data on nearly every internet-using person out there.
Breaking off data collection and advertising from the technology sides of the companies are the only way to ensure privacy practices are respected. Yes, that means disruption. Too bad. The alternative is looking more and more like the type of Dystopian, corporate-led Orwellian state that most of us believed was confined to bad science-fiction.
It's not the late-90s any more, despite the prevalence of Clinton sex scandals in the news. Time to revisit the regulations we passed for the internet back then and update them for the modern technology and consumer landscape.
Hire a Linux system administrator, systems engineer,
Why anybody would freely give personal info to a douche named Zuckerberg who created Facebook...(well, stole it actually, but I digress), so that he could bang Asian chicks...means that the world is largely populated by fucking morons. Period.
water is wet.
I agree that there are aspects of Facebook that seem downright Orwellian. However, who should have the responsibility of making sure they do the right thing? Shall we create another onerous and ineffective government organization that dictates compliance standards complete with fines to ensure compliance? It works well for driving up costs but not solving the underlying issue. I really wish people would take a more active role in protecting themselves and their information. But I fear the only way that's ever going to happen is to let them experience the joy of being compromised.
Listen, Facebook is full of crap as is the entirety of social media. Where is the surprise there? These things don't exist free of charge because Zuckerberg and the like are still in their dorm rooms trying to get dates. They exist because they are trying to be advertisers' Holy Grail. It's been that way since we started writing on papyrus. Big deal the Russian bought some ads on Facebook and followed them up with posts, etc. You don't think big (and even little) business does that every day? And come on. Whatever the Russians dreamed up is nothing compared to the mud that has flung between the two major parties for decades. Please, everyone stop your whining about how it's the Russians fault or Facebook's that we are all brainwashed. It's our fault. We're idiots, too stupid or too lazy to realize we have no one to blame but ourselves for buying (figuratively and literally) the crap that we do.
I have a FaceBook account, but it is to ID me only. I have no friends, etc. There is only a PGP key there that proves that it is mine. I have never been into myself, so FaceBook knows nothing about me. I don't get any targeted mail or popups. AdBlockPlus would forbid them anyway.
Like General Bedell Smith said to General Patton, "Rember, your worst enemy is your own big mouth.".
https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/facebook-knows-exactly-where-you-are-right-now-bumper-sticker
absolutely nobody. Correction...anyone that has been paying attention to Facebook and their wanton disregard for the data security of their users. Several years ago I recall reading several articles about how FB has changed their application to set certain items enabled where they should be disabled. Data security items. And they make it intentionally difficult for the average user to find those settings and to change them easily. So predictably, the settings go unchanged for many people.
They also make it really difficult to disable an account. Every picture you post has to be selected individually and deleted. The delete takes about 3 clicks if I recall. Why is there no "select all" button? You know, like every other application on earth has. Obviously they want to make it a royal pain to get out of. The modern day roach motel. I would be willing to bet that there are tons of zombie accounts just sitting out there that have never been properly closed. Meaning all of those photos and check-ins and friend links and other metadata are still there for FB to mine or sell or do whatever they want with it.
A few weeks ago I read an interview with Sean Parker (one of the early founders at FB) basically confirming that, yes, FB is evil. They have managed to create the internet equivalent of the crack pipe. By playing upon the basest of human emotions (envy, jealousy, greed) they have spawned an entire generation of kids completely addicted to the hamster wheel of Likes, Notifications and Check-ins. It's really a sad state of affairs.
I'm sure that somehow, somewhere, I have been linked to in a FB photo or post but any info they have on me did not come a result of me signing up. The more I read things like this the happier I am with that decision.
Clicking on "I Agree" does not mean you actually agree to their 50 pages of dense lawyer jibberish. It means "make this damned piece of shitty proprietary software work so I can communicate with my friends".
Also - all that lawyer jibberish can be summarized in just a free words: "You have no rights. You have no freedom of speech. You have no privacy. You lose. Fuck you pleb, that's why." Any kangaroo court that would enforce that kind of one-sided, rapey, blatantly inequitable "contact" is contemptible.
Elitist Democrat partisans sure do love big corporations abusing their market power to constrain the public speech of people they disagree with.
Add *.facebook.com, *.facebook.net, *.fbcdn.com, *.fbcdn.net to I.E. Restricted Sites zone, Privacy tab-Sites-cookies-always block.
Add them to blocking in content settings (incl. javascript) in Chrome.
Add them to My Rules in uBlock Origin, uMatrix, NoScript.
Add them to Hosts file.