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

Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 418 posts

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#171

Post by 9889095r3jh »

malikNF wrote: post #3

What's utterly horrifying about this whole thing is how the media is acting as if this is some sort of surprise. Like what did you think was happening at a company collecting data about billions of people? Especially at a company that has a CEO who is famous for calling its own users dumb fu * * s? A company that experimented on at risk teens. Like come on. --edit--- Or lordy, didn't expect this comment to blow up th…

Would you rather the media report on unsubstantiated rumors and assumptions, or would you rather they wait to report things until they have evidence, or a source who can verify the information?

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#172

Post by [deleted] »

UncreativeCodar wrote: post #164
to_bpr wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're adults here but that doesn't mean we should pursue a higher level of discourse. If you want cursing or other low content, there's always Reddit.

I know it's originally from a Zuckerburg quote but the point is that if you want to call someone a dumbfuck, call them a dumbfuck. Censoring the latter half doesn't somehow elevate the discourse.

[deleted]

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#173

Post by majewsky »

Angostura wrote: post #54
jimmy1 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No but in the grand scheme of things, things like the Yemen Civil War that has been ongoing since 2015 has gotten less attention in our media than a single Donald Trump tweet. For lack of a better word: sad!

It would be sad if you were correct, but you're not https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=yemen+civil+war

The plain number of articles on a topic is not a useful measure for their impact. A dozen newsticker reports will be remembered less than a single frontpage article.

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#174

Post by JumpCrisscross »

malikNF wrote: post #3

What's utterly horrifying about this whole thing is how the media is acting as if this is some sort of surprise. Like what did you think was happening at a company collecting data about billions of people? Especially at a company that has a CEO who is famous for calling its own users dumb fu * * s? A company that experimented on at risk teens. Like come on. --edit--- Or lordy, didn't expect this comment to blow up th…

> as if this is some sort of surprise

Most people don’t think “the data used to sell me milk could be used by politicians.” And those that do didn’t think “political ads today could be replaced by surreptitious foreigners tomorrow.”

If your reaction is “they should have known” you are in a Silicon Valley thought bubble. (I was until recently, too.) What you find “horrifying” is that bubble’s edges fraying.

*

“Of all the news crises Facebook has faced during the past year, the Cambridge Analytica scandal is playing out to be the worst and most damaging.

Why it matters: It's not that the reports reveal anything particularly new about how Facebook's back end works — developers have understood the vulnerabilities of Facebook's interface for years. But stakeholders crucial to the company's success — as well as the public — seem less willing to listen to its side of the story this time around.”

https://www.axios.com/facebook-reaches-tipping-point-cb7e0e9...

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#175

Post by peterwwillis »

scottmf wrote: post #110
peterwwillis wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People love to pretend to be horrified by things they've assumed to be true. "What? A politician is corrupt? Outrage!!" "What? They're tracking me to build profiles on my use of all their advertising driven free services? Outrage!!" I'm sure there's a word for it in German.

Have you ever considered the possibility that many people actually are shocked? Why do “people love to pretend” that genuine outrage and the sincere desire to stop immoral practices doesn’t exist? Many people sincerely care about what’s right, even if they fall prey to human flaws and cognitive biases from time to time. Perhaps those who talk about how “everyone” just “loves to act like” x and “virtue signal” y are m…

That's even more sad. It would mean that even though they care deeply about outcomes, they either willfully ignore the things that result in those outcomes, or have amnesia, or are just incapable of doing anything about it.

Take Congress for example. Approval ratings are what, 20%? They're generally seen to be corrupt, and they don't get anything done, right? So why aren't they voted out of office? Why are people surprised when they end up having low morals or corrupt? If people honestly cared, wouldn't they immediately demand change? But the status quo remains.

So either the people have no power to change things, or they collectively forget these things every day, or the real reason: they don't really care that much, but like to seem like they do.

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#178

Post by magic_beans »

malikNF wrote: post #3

What's utterly horrifying about this whole thing is how the media is acting as if this is some sort of surprise. Like what did you think was happening at a company collecting data about billions of people? Especially at a company that has a CEO who is famous for calling its own users dumb fu * * s? A company that experimented on at risk teens. Like come on. --edit--- Or lordy, didn't expect this comment to blow up th…

Facebook offers their service FOR FREE. What did people expect?

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#179

Post by mroll »

> ...terms and conditions people did not read or understand.

The article acts like this is unprecedented. No one reads terms and conditions. It's not as if people fork over intimate details of their personal lives to Facebook with the defense that "oh the terms and conditions say they can't use this in a way I don't like"

People fork over intimate details of their personal life to companies like fb because they haven't thought about it very hard

Re: Ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine

#180

Post by mancerayder »

anonymouz wrote: post #99
malikNF wrote: post #3

What's utterly horrifying about this whole thing is how the media is acting as if this is some sort of surprise. Like what did you think was happening at a company collecting data about billions of people? Especially at a company that has a CEO who is famous for calling its own users dumb fu * * s? A company that experimented on at risk teens. Like come on. --edit--- Or lordy, didn't expect this comment to blow up th…

As someone who considered himself reasonably well-informed about the privacy implications of Facebook, the "friend permission" was still news to me. That Facebook would share my profile data with a third party because some Facebook contact of mine "allowed" it, is utterly horrific. It is also a clear and massive breach of EU data privacy laws. (Which unfortunately seem difficult to enforce against international compa…

I 100% agree, it's the friend permission thing that is criminal. Facebook no doubt covered their asses legally via the TOC, but I hope that the misleading nature of the (complex and ever-changing) privacy settings is mentioned in a lawsuit one day.
Post reply on HN