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Facebook Survey Suggests Continuing US Loyalty After Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal (bbc.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the business-as-usual dept.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey found that Facebook users in the U.S. remain loyal to the site, despite the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal that exposed the data of 87 million users. The survey "found no clear loss or gain in use since then," reports the BBC. From the report: Conducted online, the Reuters/Ipsos survey questioned 2,194 American adults between April 26 and April 30. The poll has a margin of error of three percentage points. Some 64% percent said they used Facebook at least once a day, down slightly from the 68% recorded in a similar poll in late March, soon after the Cambridge Analytica story broke. Asked if they were aware of their current privacy settings, 74% of Facebook users said they were, and 78% said they knew how to change them. Among Twitter users, this was 55% and 58%, while for Instagram users, it was 60% and 65%.

60 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. "The mob is fickle, brother... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...they will forget within a week"

        -- Connie Nielsen, Gladiator (2000)

    1. Re:"The mob is fickle, brother... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      At this time there is no real suitable replacement.

    2. Re:"The mob is fickle, brother... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Not quite. There ultimately was no mob at all. A bunch of hastags on twitter, a bit of bashing about in the media, and .... no one cared.

    3. Re:"The mob is fickle, brother... by gnick · · Score: 1

      Conversing better with text than phone is a handicap? OK. So, since so many of us are handicapped, why not let us use a tool that addresses that handicap? Even with close family members I use text much more than phone calls. Speaking on the phone, I sometimes forget a detail that's already been communicated or lose the original point when we get on a tangent. That's not an issue when I can see the whole conversation. Or I'll get bored with a 10 minute story about getting doughnuts. Not an issue when I can read the story in 30 seconds and type a 5-word reply that's 100% as insightful as the response I would have given on the phone. This post isn't exactly gold-plated, but it's better than a response I would have spoken as a reply to what you just "said."

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
  2. What else do you expect? by techno-vampire · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't use Facebook, but from what I can see, most people who do act as though it's an addiction. Would you expect heroin addicts to quit just because there was a report of heroin cut with rat poison in their area?

    --
    Good, inexpensive web hosting
    1. Re:What else do you expect? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      100% this. That and they don’t understand what privacy and their data is to begin with. Also stupidity. Lots and lots of it.

    2. Re:What else do you expect? by fafalone · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It doesn't take being addicted to not care that everything you put in a semi-public profile is available to various 3rd parties. They couldn't access private message contents, which is the only thing anyone should think wouldn't be public. I don't care that some company might have scraped my public profile info through one of my friends installing an app; even though I only add in-person friends I'd still never presume anything visible to dozens of people wasn't publicly accessible to apps on the platform.
      While I have a well thought out reason why it won't keep me off Facebook, I suspect an even larger contingent has that vague 'it's not really a secret anyway' attitude combined with the even bigger lack of direct consequences: What impact has this had on them that they can see? None. And not because they think just others were effected like your drug cut, but because even if their data was collected; so what?

    3. Re: What else do you expect? by Wycliffe · · Score: 1

      Itâ(TM)s more like expecting a heroine user to quit after finding out his money is used by the drug cartel to buy guns. People already assume that facebook is selling their data. They likely assume that it is worse than it really is. They donâ(TM)t care. Given the option to pay $5/month for private data, very few would sign up. They might pay for less ads but privacy isnâ(TM)t something people care about. This was only a scandal for the media. Everyone else assumed it was already happening.

    4. Re:What else do you expect? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      That and they don’t understand what privacy and their data is to begin with.

      Or they do understand, and just don't care. Seriously, what "Bad Thing" will happen to me if Facebook knows my shopping and browsing history? The only consequence that I can see is advertising more attuned to my interests, which is hardy "bad". Maybe I will also get better recommendations for movies and books. The way I see it, the more they know about me, the better.

      Also stupidity. Lots and lots of it.

      But you're one of the smart ones, right?

    5. Re:What else do you expect? by Gollent · · Score: 1

      Many doesn't really care. Most people who tried facebook are using it as part of daily life.

    6. Re:What else do you expect? by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      I don't care that some company might have scraped my public profile info through one of my friends installing an app

      It's not about YOU, is it?

      There are plenty of people who do have good reason to care if that data went public - they might be (eg.) a gay atheist or something. Being publicly outed because one of their contacts downloaded a dumb app that starts spewing that information everywhere could have serious consequences for many people.

      You're not the spokesperson for the Internet. Grow up and learn there's other people in the world.

      --
      No sig today...
    7. Re:What else do you expect? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      I don't use Facebook, but from what I can see, most people who do act as though it's an addiction. Would you expect heroin addicts to quit

      So you're not in a very good place to comment on people's behaviours. Your analogy of the heroin addict is way off the mark. Here's a better comparison sans analogy:

      Would someone who shared something on a platform knowing full well it gets shared with advertisers for marketing purposes quit that platform because the media discovered that the marketing purpose was politicial?

      There's no adiction involved. As I said from the onset the only people at all who think this is even remotely an issue are the media. The users who ultimately are happy with uploading things to the internet ultimatley don't give a shit if someone reads the things uploaded to the internet.

      That said there is some evidence of Facebook adicition, but that is hardly normal across the entire population.

    8. Re:What else do you expect? by dontbgay · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's not abour YOU neither. Facebook is inescapable as far as personal information and browsing habits go. The Like buttons and the Share buttons on damn near every website follow you around the internet. Even if you haven't made a personal profile, all those page clicks are logged. And even if you don't see a button on the page, there are pixels you can add to your site to track users. It's marketing. Plain and simple. They've hooked the entire internet (mostly) on seeing who is doing what, and doubly so if you're a host or online shop. The angle you're playing is trite and insignificant when you consider what you're up against. The only way to win, is to not play. And since you're here, you've made your choice.

      --
      Sig not found.
    9. Re:What else do you expect? by jbmartin6 · · Score: 1

      I once held this attitude, but recently I have changed my opinion. The results are not limited to ads 'more attuned to my interests'. If Facebook knows I read science fiction, and shows me ads for science fiction, that's fine. But what about when they use the data to infer things I haven't shared? The "Target knew the girl was pregnant" story is a well known example. It is easy for them to infer a lot about us without our understanding that we are sharing it. If you are comfortable with that, so be it. For now, it isn't the end of the world even with the research about manipulating voters through ads. If they put a woman in a beer ad, I see what they did. How about the research that shows I am more likely to pay attention to a purple ad than a green one, or other manipulations I don't know about, all targeted at me specifically? Another problem is, we've seen how easy it is to de-anonymize "anonymized" browsing history. What if criminals had access to this data and used it to stalk me, or rob me? It's not that far off. Researcher have demonstrated how easy it is to get access to huge chunks of 'anonymous' browsing data. It's not that anonymous.

      --
      This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    10. Re:What else do you expect? by farble1670 · · Score: 1

      Also stupidity.

      Definition of stupid (and lazy): going about your life dismissing everyone else as "stupid".

    11. Re:What else do you expect? by farble1670 · · Score: 1

      Being publicly outed because one of their contacts downloaded a dumb app that starts spewing that information everywhere could have serious consequences for many people.

      Oooh! Oooh! I know the answer. Don't put that info on your public Facebook profile?

    12. Re:What else do you expect? by exomondo · · Score: 1

      It couldn't be about other people, people who don't want their community to find out they're gay (or atheist).

      We have been trying to explain this to the RIAA/MPAA for well over a decade now: If you put information out there you cannot control it, you can threaten lawsuits or try implementing various forms of DRM but ultimately you do not control it. If you don't want it out there publicly then don't put it out there publicly. That's the nature of the internet.

  3. Surgeon General finds... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Studies show continued cigarette loyalty after Surgeon General's warning.

    1. Re:Surgeon General finds... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Studies show continued cigarette loyalty after Surgeon General's warning.

      Or more likely: people who share ${thing_on_internet} aren't disuaded when you point out to them that some read ${thing_on_internet}.

      The first Surgeon General warning pointed out that cigarettes are bad for you. The CA "scandal" pointed out Facebook shares user data, something that every little Facebook app has warned that it does since back before Farmville was a thing.

  4. Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The fake outrage since the election doesn't actually play with the population at large.

    1. Re:Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Absolutely. 1) FB users don't really care since anything they post becomes by default...public knowledge. 2) Most people don't change their vote just because they see an ad from a Russian Troll, a political party, or some advocacy group (i.e. the media). 3) Most people refuse to get outraged over something the other party got praised for doing just a few years ago.

    2. Re:Not surprising by farble1670 · · Score: 1

      2) Most people don't change their vote just because they see an ad from a Russian Troll

      Then why are you here?

    3. Re:Not surprising by farble1670 · · Score: 1

      I'm here to laugh at the idiots who think that privacy is a thing.

      I meant "Most people don't change their vote just because they see an ad from a Russian Troll", and since you are obviously a troll, why are you contradicting yourself by posting. Hard to believe that got post one of the internet's great thinkers. If you walk around life thinking everyone else is an idiot, you might do well to turn your reflections inward. Great visionaries and thinkers usually don't go around "laughing at idiots" then bragging about it anonymously.

      But anyway, You're right about our ability to "hide" personal information from others. That boat has failed. That however doesn't mean we can't pass laws about how that data can be used.

      Happy trolling, comrade.

  5. Facebook is an addiction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    People are addicted to the voyeurism that is facebook. They have to know what other people are up to,
    Like all addictions I suggest going cold turkey!
    Add the following to your hosts file
    127.0.0.1 facebook.com
    127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com

    1. Re:Facebook is an addiction by Narcocide · · Score: 1

      someone give this a +1 informative

  6. The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a month. by SlashGodet · · Score: 2

    No "suitable" replacement is possible. A replacement as enticing and persuasive-by-design will feature the same faults. Because the faults are ... ***features***

  7. No. One. Fucking. Cares. by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Look technorati of Slashdot, 99.9999999999% of the human population gives zero fucks about online privacy - well actually that's not true, because 99.999999999% of the human population of Earth will actively seek to *undermine* their own privacy if given any opportunity, and be happy doing so.

    Do you get it? No? Well then, carry on in ignorance and fear. Just live with the pleasure of knowing you are "right" to be afraid, whatever that means.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:No. One. Fucking. Cares. by antdude · · Score: 1

      But NBA, Comcast, Toyota, CBS, Obama, health, customer, etc., care too!

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    2. Re:No. One. Fucking. Cares. by Waccoon · · Score: 1

      And when something truly drastic goes down, the people all cry in unison, "Why didn't THEY do more to protect us?!"

    3. Re: No. One. Fucking. Cares. by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 2

      99.9999999999% of population leaves less than a finger of a person in the other group. It makes you sound like my wife when she compares who does how much around the house.

    4. Re:No. One. Fucking. Cares. by mlw4428 · · Score: 2

      And they wouldn't be wrong. Look at what the EU is doing. Entire companies are having to halt operations in the EU, because they cannot meet or are unwilling to meet the new regulations the EU is putting in place. There's no reason the US couldn't do the exact same thing, except for HURR MUH MONEYYIIIEESS that some capitalist pig feels he's entitled to over my right to NOT be spammed by his shit brick company.

    5. Re:No. One. Fucking. Cares. by sinij · · Score: 1

      Look technorati of Slashdot, 99.9999999999% of the human population gives zero fucks about online privacy

      This is true, but also has to be qualified.

      Most people don't care about privacy until they need it. Ask anyone who was dragged by an online mob, 100% would ask for privacy, as much as they could get.

    6. Re:No. One. Fucking. Cares. by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      What you're saying is that 99.9999999999999999999% of the world is either as dumb as a box of rocks, or has been tricked/indoctrinated to believe that 'privacy' is BAD and WRONG and only BAD and WRONG people want it. Then to reinforce that activity they are given treats and positive reinforcement of the unnatural (and believe you me, everyone, the need for privacy is inherent, not learned) behavior of 'sharing everything with everyone all the time'. Doesn't make it right, doesn't mean Facebook is right, does likely mean Facebook is making this shit up to try to stop the bleeding (oh look, a puppy!) I for one don't believe them, Facebook is evil, social media in general is evil and pointless and stupid, and it all needs to go away.

    7. Re:No. One. Fucking. Cares. by farble1670 · · Score: 1

      Look technorati of Slashdot, 99.9999999999% of the human population gives zero fucks about online privacy

      Wrong. According to wikipedia, Europe comprises about 12% of the world's population.

    8. Re:No. One. Fucking. Cares. by Gollent · · Score: 1

      And the 0.000000001% are keeping the people's info, thought they are more than that.

  8. People be stupid.... by SeaFox · · Score: 1

    Film at 11.

  9. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The """faults""" are by design, but the only fault - getting caught and provoking media attention - will be fixed either by Facebook or by the next iteration that arises after Facebook crashes and burns.

    Incidentally, since the true catalyst for the media outrage this time around was the tangential association with Trump and the idea that Facebook's actions were indirectly helping Trump's campaign, the lesson for next time will be to discriminate even more aggressively against any candidate that the media has unanimously aligned itself against.

    Captcha: fascism

  10. Re: Fake News! by Reverend+Green · · Score: 1

    Yup, most likely.

  11. BBC Editors by mentil · · Score: 1

    Some sixty-four 64% percent out of a hundred said they used Facebook at least once a day

    FTFY

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
  12. Zuck was right... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ...when he referred to Facebook users as "dumb fucks".

  13. Survey by dohzer · · Score: 2

    Take this quick survey* to find out your Offical Facebook Loyalty Level.

      *Run by the company that replaced Cambridge Analytica

  14. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yup. It's like saying "nine out of ten heroin users would continue to use it even when warned about the dangers of contaminated needles".

  15. 2 Rules to explain most human behaviour by VirginMary · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Rule #1: People are stupid.

    Rule #2: If some human behaviour seems incomprehensible to you, see rule #1.

    --
    When 1person suffers from a delusion,it is called insanity.When many people suffer from a delusion,it is called religion
    1. Re:2 Rules to explain most human behaviour by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Define in this context. Who are stupid?

      The people who don't abandon a service which the media discovered did something it said it was doing from the begining?
      The media for blowing up this in incredible surprise?
      The people who thought that anyone on Facebook gave a shit when their data which was collected for marketing purposes was sold for marketing purposes?
      Or the people who thought that just because the magic word "election" was used, something would change?

    2. Re:2 Rules to explain most human behaviour by sinij · · Score: 1

      People can decide what's best for them without the input from socially inept autistic losers. :)

      Actually, people in general, are absolutely inept at deciding what is best for them. Look at widespread cases of people eating themselves to death, drinking themselves to death, and dying from preventable diseases when medical care is accessible.

    3. Re:2 Rules to explain most human behaviour by Narcocide · · Score: 1

      Ooh ooh, I know this one! The answer is "none of the above."

      The really stupid people here are the ones who are still trying to argue that the breach of privacy is no big deal if you don't care about your own personal privacy. These people still think the overarching conversation is just about personal embarrassment. They don't realize that this big of a breach of global privacy creates threats to things far more important than just your individual dignities.

    4. Re:2 Rules to explain most human behaviour by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      The really stupid people here are the ones who are still trying to argue that the breach of privacy is no big deal if you don't care about your own personal privacy.

      Only if you have an over inflated view of privacy. Protip: Everything you do on Facebook says "this will be shared with ${insert_shitty_third_party_here}.

      The only ones claiming any kind of "breach" are the ones who have no idea how Facebook has been worked from day 1.

    5. Re:2 Rules to explain most human behaviour by farble1670 · · Score: 1

      Rule #1: People are stupid.

      Actually, dismissing things you don't like or don't understand as "stupid" is both stupid and lazy.

  16. Loyalty? by aglider · · Score: 1

    Or no care for their own privacy?

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  17. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yup. It's like saying "nine out of ten heroin users would continue to use it even when warned about the dangers of contaminated needles".

    No it's not like saying that at all. So people's data was used to help target an election campaign...

    The election tomfoolery is just the tip of the iceberg. What about stalking? Identity theft? Burglars knowing when you're out of state on vacation? Getting passed over for a job because some busybody in HR discovers that you've smoked weed a nonzero number of times? Expressing an opinion that's protected by law in your home country, but when you happen to travel to a different country, you get arrested or maybe even just disappeared, merely for having said it?

    So, yes, it is like saying that.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  18. What!? by DaMattster · · Score: 1

    I know this doesn't really mean shit but quite a few people I know got rid of Facebook. I've been free from Facebook for 6 months now!

  19. I carry on using Facebook by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    It's my garbage bin. It allows me to log into sites for comments without having to register. All the concomitant trash just goes to my Facebook account. I don't know what is in it, and I don't care. I opened the account with false credentials throughout, and I use Facebook only on my desktop.

    1. Re:I carry on using Facebook by Gollent · · Score: 1

      Well, Facebook is still the most effective social media site today.

  20. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by JackieBrown · · Score: 2

    How would you fix that? Limit what people are allowed to say or share?

    People choose to allow their lives to be public. It's not necessarily a smart choice, but it is their choice.

    I have a facebook account that is essentially an online photo album for my friends and family to see. My wife has one that she uses to share everything under the sun. Short of making her wait until we return to town from a vacation to post vacation pics, it's her life and her choice.

    We both are aware of the risks. She gets allot more out of her facebook experience than I do but I have a safer online presence than she does.

    Heck, my Slashdot profile would get me in much more trouble than my facebook one.

  21. AOL Survey suggests Usenet Loyalty by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

    A recent survey of AOL users suggests that they are still loyal to Usenet.

    Tragedy of the commons, nod and move on.

  22. the scandal is based on a wrong assumption by superwiz · · Score: 1

    The scandal is based on the assumption that people trust their data to be private. But anyone who is privacy-conscious is already staying away from Facebook. And for this self-filtered population the scandal is not much of a scandal.

    --
    Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
  23. the obvious, re-confirmed by epine · · Score: 1

    Facebook's user base is already self-selected for prioritizing short-term convenience over long-term autonomy.

    Libertarians, despair: none of these people are awake to the ideological lure of personal autonomy juice.

  24. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by Rhacman · · Score: 1

    I don't think anyone in this thread chain is saying it can be fixed. The analogy was contaminated heroin needles. The analogous "solution" would be use clean needles or abstain. Since abstention seems out of the question for many the alternative is tightly controlling what you share thus limiting the potential impact on yourself and the people who's information you are sharing.

    "It's her life and her choice."

    I don't use Facebook, but friends and family do. I try to make my feelings clear about the matter but I don't have any control over what they post about me. Not claiming I know a fix for that either. I'm only thankful that I'm old enough that my entire childhood wasn't documented online.

    --
    Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
  25. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by farble1670 · · Score: 2

    How would you fix that? Limit what people are allowed to say or share?

    Pass laws limiting the use of harvested data, and / or require express consent from the owner to do so.

  26. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by datavirtue · · Score: 1

    "Heck, my Slashdot profile would get me in much more trouble than my facebook one."

    Same here.

    --
    I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock