Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

newsroom.fb.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 160 posts

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#91

Post by ams6110 »

NotSammyHagar wrote: post #25

It's too easy for this information to get out. There's basically no penalty, you just use as you want and year's late facebook cuts you off? So you start a new company, owned by a new llc, get the lawyers to sign the 'i am not evil' doc and repeat. There's no way this will have any impact until there are criminal citations on the people involved. In this case, because it's the us, there's not going to be anything cri…

Here's the thing. When you give your data to Facebook or anybody else you no longer control it. Laws, policies, user agreements, none of that really matters. You don't control your data once it is no longer in your possession.

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#92

Post by notatoad »

paulddraper wrote: post #41
nathanaldensr wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly what I wanted to say. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house... none of these parties--Facebook included--can be trusted with any data. They're all out to make a buck with it!

I 100% believe in the fox to guard the hen house...from the other foxes. No point in sharing dinner.

Exactly. Facebook really wants to protect your personal information - it's their competitive advantage. If other companies all have your personal info too, then it's less valuable to Facebook. The last thing they want to do is let it get out.

If you've decided to share your info with Facebook, well, that's on you. But Facebook isn't going to share it.

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#93

Post by YeGoblynQueenne »

>> In 2015, we learned that a psychology professor at the University of Cambridge named Dr. Aleksandr Kogan lied to us and violated our Platform Policies by passing data from an app that was using Facebook Login to SCL/Cambridge Analytica, a firm that does political, government and military work around the globe. He also passed that data to Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, Inc.

So basically FB's problem is that Kogan passed the data to third parties, without FB's knowledge and -I guess- without FB being in on the deal. Because FB's whole business model is to hoover up its user's data and sell it to "third parties".

Third parties who may then do with it whatever they like, without users having any control over it. You know- like Kogan just did.

FB is trying to pretend they're the responsible party in this - "Protecting peoples' information" is what they do, they say. Well, no it isn't. Trading peoples' information is at the heart of everything they do. And this is just one more example of why it is so harmful.

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#94

Post by jimsmart »

Curiously, just weeks ago, Alexander Nix (CEO of Cambridge Analytica) stated, in a letter to UK Parliament, that they gather no such information:

"On 8 February 2018 Mr Matheson implied that Cambridge Analytica "gathers data from users on Facebook." Cambridge Analytica does not gather such data."

Quoted from 'Letter from Alexander Nix, CEO, Cambridge Analytica, to the Chair of the Committee, 23 February 2018' (PDF), linked from this page: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z...

— So it would seem that they've been caught with their pants on fire then?

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#95

Post by rogerb »

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #93

>> In 2015, we learned that a psychology professor at the University of Cambridge named Dr. Aleksandr Kogan lied to us and violated our Platform Policies by passing data from an app that was using Facebook Login to SCL/Cambridge Analytica, a firm that does political, government and military work around the globe. He also passed that data to Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, Inc. So basically FB's problem is t…

Someone please correct me - but I don't think that FB sells data. They use it for their own uses, and customers of their advertising platform can use that data to target groups, but I don't think they sell their data to 3rd parties. Am I wrong ?

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#96

Post by jimsmart »

rogerb wrote: post #95
YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #93

>> In 2015, we learned that a psychology professor at the University of Cambridge named Dr. Aleksandr Kogan lied to us and violated our Platform Policies by passing data from an app that was using Facebook Login to SCL/Cambridge Analytica, a firm that does political, government and military work around the globe. He also passed that data to Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, Inc. So basically FB's problem is t…

Someone please correct me - but I don't think that FB sells data. They use it for their own uses, and customers of their advertising platform can use that data to target groups, but I don't think they sell their data to 3rd parties. Am I wrong ?

Facebook themselves say they don't.

https://www.facebook.com/help/152637448140583?helpref=uf_per...

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#97

Post by jimsmart »

rogerb wrote: post #95
YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #93

>> In 2015, we learned that a psychology professor at the University of Cambridge named Dr. Aleksandr Kogan lied to us and violated our Platform Policies by passing data from an app that was using Facebook Login to SCL/Cambridge Analytica, a firm that does political, government and military work around the globe. He also passed that data to Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, Inc. So basically FB's problem is t…

Someone please correct me - but I don't think that FB sells data. They use it for their own uses, and customers of their advertising platform can use that data to target groups, but I don't think they sell their data to 3rd parties. Am I wrong ?

My understanding is that Facebook act as the 'ad broker' themselves, as opposed to selling the data on to third-party ad brokers.

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#98

Post by xienze »

jadedhacker wrote: post #62
bmpafa wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's got full control right now, and opinions of him seem pretty negative overall (esp. wrt privacy/trust). I can't imagine it'd be any easier to manipulate opinions en masse if he were actively seeking office.

People aren't that dumb, but it is still pretty scary that he'd be able to scientifically design an electoral campaign that can be updated in real time using various FB tools. No other politician has access to power like that. I can't imagine what kind of coalition he could assemble. I don't know if it would win, but if he takes whatever position his data tells him, the only obvious thing that would sink him would be…

Zuck is a Democrat, he’d get a pass on all that, especially if it meant getting Trump out of office. Let’s not kid ourselves, hardly anyone in the media and government would make a stink about what he does with FB to get elected.

This is all hypothetical of course, he has to be one of the most unlikeable people in ages, and the reception to his “I identify with you, middle Americans” tour really solidified that feeling.

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#99

Post by kbaker »

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #90
kbaker wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I urge everyone to watch this video from Cambridge Analytica about their techniques with big data and psychographic profiling leading up to the 2016 election. Very dystopian, it almost feels like a seminar with a Bond villain. Quote from the video: > "we were able to form a model to predict the personality of every single adult in the United States of America." https://youtu.be/n8Dd5aVXLCc Edit: also this article is…

>> "we were able to form a model to predict the personality of every single adult in the United States of America." That would be dystopian if it weren't so ridiculous. They can do nothing of the sort- predict the personality of any adult in the USA. At best they might be able to make predictions on a population basis, but anything more precise than that is out of the question. Behaviour prediction on an individual s…

Did you watch the video? They claimed real results helping Ted Cruz in the primaries with this sort of hyper-targeted advertising.

The access they have to online data sources would absolutely be enough to start correlating things to build an individual profile. Say you can link someone's FB, Twitter, (HN?!) account posts, likes, shares, to credit card data, maybe even search keywords from shady advertisers, to vehicle registration records, tax records, census data, etc.

Do you really think this profiling is that far-fetched that they need to BS everyone? It doesn't have to be perfect to be many times more effective than untargeted ads...

Re: Suspending Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group from Facebook

#100

Post by SheinhardtWigCo »

rogerb wrote: post #95
YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #93

>> In 2015, we learned that a psychology professor at the University of Cambridge named Dr. Aleksandr Kogan lied to us and violated our Platform Policies by passing data from an app that was using Facebook Login to SCL/Cambridge Analytica, a firm that does political, government and military work around the globe. He also passed that data to Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, Inc. So basically FB's problem is t…

Someone please correct me - but I don't think that FB sells data. They use it for their own uses, and customers of their advertising platform can use that data to target groups, but I don't think they sell their data to 3rd parties. Am I wrong ?

Nobody outside of Facebook has any way of knowing. That’s the problem.
Post reply on HN