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Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends

nytimes.com

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Re: Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends

#31

Post by marticode »

newscracker wrote: post #24

I for one do not expect Facebook to change much unless there's a big shakeup from the top, including removing Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and others. What they have shown repeatedly is contempt for their users in the guise of apologies and remediations that go nowhere. Since such a shakeup is unlikely to happen, the other thing that could happen is a breaking up of the company, which I'm guessing (this is not a…

I don't believe there is much synergies between FB and Instead anyway, and even less so with WhatsApp which seemed to be have been bought out strictly to stop it from growing into its own social network.

But I don't see the US ever breaking up FB in the coming decade, as the agenda is clearly not to fight monopolies and trusts.

Re: Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends

#32

Post by huntermeyer »

spookthesunset wrote: post #28
PostOnce wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We (society) made the rules, and we can change them. We have the power to make laws dictating how Facebook can use the data, regardless of what the contract says, regardless of their current "obligations", and regardless of how "public" this data might be. We made new laws about medical data -- we can make news laws about social data. That's what these stories are about -- things we can think about when drafting this…

Why does the law need to change for this? Facebook should disclose what they do with your data, and that is about it. At that point, it is really up to you to decide if you want to play ball...

I completely agree. I don't think there's any need for legislation. I think people should just realize the simple adage, "if a product is free, you're the product" or whatever.

Our society needs to wise up.

Re: Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends

#35

Post by gboudrias »

radicaldreamer wrote: post #4

Nothing will change Facebook's behavior except heavy regulation or the threat of a breakup.

Honestly the only way might be American regulation specifically targeting Facebook. And the next player might be just as insidious. It would be extremely hard to avoid this result without a dramatic shift in public opinion and frankly culture.

Re: Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends

#36

Post by wu-ikkyu »

Iv wrote: post #14
jumelles wrote: post #6

Here we go again... it feel like there's no way to break out of this cycle where companies routinely go unpunished for bad behavior. Facebook, Equifax, Wells Fargo...

The problem is that "bad behavior" is a concept in flux. Facebook never hid what their business model was: sell your personal data to third parties. Only a few privacy activists were concerned. Others reactions went from "meh" to "it's actually smart!" (Remember when Obama's campaign was praised for its innovative approach profiling voters?). It took Cambridge Analytica for people to realize that they did not want th…

>I have more contempt for the lawmakers in front of him, who actually enabled Facebook to become such a monster by either facilitating or simply not understanding what it was doing.

Does your contempt extend to the billions of non-technical minded users who also did not understand what FB was doing?

Re: Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends

#37

Post by downandout »

knoepfle wrote: post #5

What is this describing? First-party apps with Facebook integration and/or OS features connecting to Facebook? The leakage of Facebook information onto MS/Apple/Blackberry servers would be concerning, but having Microsoft software connect to Facebook on a user's device sounds harmless (to the extent we trust MS/Apple/Blackberry software to not leak information so accessed). Right now I'm giving Apple similar access t…

I believe it's describing "First-party apps with Facebook integration and/or OS features connecting to Facebook". It was OS-level integration to provide you with convenient access to Facebook data and features. The best example in the article was from Apple, who used it to allow users to post photos to Facebook directly from the standard Photos app. It wasn't so that the device makers could rifle through your data and influence elections or sell you things.

There's nothing to see here, but it sure makes for a provocative headline that will get lots of clicks and make the NYT lots of money from personalized ads. You have to love the irony.

Re: Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends

#38

Post by newscracker »

marticode wrote: post #31
newscracker wrote: post #24

I for one do not expect Facebook to change much unless there's a big shakeup from the top, including removing Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and others. What they have shown repeatedly is contempt for their users in the guise of apologies and remediations that go nowhere. Since such a shakeup is unlikely to happen, the other thing that could happen is a breaking up of the company, which I'm guessing (this is not a…

I don't believe there is much synergies between FB and Instead anyway, and even less so with WhatsApp which seemed to be have been bought out strictly to stop it from growing into its own social network. But I don't see the US ever breaking up FB in the coming decade, as the agenda is clearly not to fight monopolies and trusts.

Any breakup, if it were to happen, would be likely to be triggered mainly by the EU, IMO. For all the complexities that EU regulations sometimes bring in, I see the EU as the only hope in such cases.

Re: Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends

#39

Post by seorphates »

"Facebook Gave..."

Well, that's like problem number 15. Number one is to look at what you're giving to facebook.

Number 2 is to look at how much control you have over the intimacy of your own life and those around you, using or not.

Number 3 might be to look at how many phones/devices you can root, rip and reset (I mean, c'mon, the personal data sink on a phone is enormous and most have little to no say about what can be on it and when much less port and comms control).

Number 4 is maybe that any middlin' IQ ass with a badge or a note with some letterhead can scoop your kit. (See Number 1.)

Number 5 - Who makes the rules? (Don't think too hard on it, please.)

Et cetera.

Facebook is easy. Fasebook is sleezy. Facebook is free. So? I think I'll trust my peers well before I trust any piece of must-have with a logo that gives you only tactile controls, at best. The masses do not choose wisely. (See Number 5.)

If you do the sharing then you need to do the caring. Button it up and bring it down. Believe it or not your likes are your own and if you don't like what they're doing now then shut it down. I know it's easier said than done for some but the keys to the kingdom are in corporate hands now. Good luck.

Re: Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends

#40

Post by Iv »

wu-ikkyu wrote: post #36
Iv wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that "bad behavior" is a concept in flux. Facebook never hid what their business model was: sell your personal data to third parties. Only a few privacy activists were concerned. Others reactions went from "meh" to "it's actually smart!" (Remember when Obama's campaign was praised for its innovative approach profiling voters?). It took Cambridge Analytica for people to realize that they did not want th…

>I have more contempt for the lawmakers in front of him, who actually enabled Facebook to become such a monster by either facilitating or simply not understanding what it was doing. Does your contempt extend to the billions of non-technical minded users who also did not understand what FB was doing?

Not really. The notion that the non-technical should understand EULAS dozens of pages long is a total fiction (that is legally binding in the US but not so much in saner countries).

On thousands of issues that can put several things I hold dear at risk, I just trust elected officials to do the right call. It is THEIR job to understand these issues and take the correct stance. I mean, this is literally what they are paid for.

I still wish that privacy had been a bigger concern to the population at large, but thanks to recent scandals, and to EU laws, this starts being the case.

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