Facebook is facing legal troubles following the breaking story of Cambridge Analytica using personal data to create what could almost be called a “social experiment” in thought influence and control. Facebook is claiming the company has done nothing wrong and it is not responsible for any the trouble caused by Cambridge Analytica.
How the Cambridge Analytica trouble was caused
Users do sign away some of the rights to their personal data; this is part of the agreement that keeps Facebook free for users. According to one report, Facebook makes about $4 per person a year from selling their data. The issue about an individual’s personal data and what its use is after it moves into other hands has come to a head. Facebook claims it asked Cambridge Analytica to destroy the personal data, but the data analytics company did not comply despite assuring Facebook that they did so.
The law moves in
In the US, the FTC is considering Facebook’s dealings with Cambridge Analytica. While in Britain, the UK Information Commissioner’s office is investigating the same matter. This attention is due to the claims that the private data was illegally taken and used against the will of users to cause problems for democracy in the US election and the Brexit vote.
Forensic auditors are considering Cambridge Analytica’s head office in London. “Auditors from Strop Fried berg were on site at Cambridge Analytic’s London office this evening,” the company said in a statement late Monday. “At the request of the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, which has announced it is pursuing a warrant to conduct its on-site investigation, the Strop Fried berg auditors stood down.”
What is Facebook?
In the US, Mark Zuckerberg has a request made of him to front up and testify about what Facebook did and did not do. Facebook is in trouble with their stock price falling. The Cambridge Analytica problem is just another issue facing Facebook about its role in a democratic society, with the previous issue of fake news and propaganda spreading like wildfire on the site.
What Facebook and other social media sites are being still up for debate. Social media platforms are free but need to make money to keep investors happy. If Facebook is a content platform with no responsibility for what their user’s post or who companies do with personal data. Or is Facebook a media outlet with all the responsibilities and ethical considerations that come with the title.
Source: Reuters, TechCrunch
