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DeleteFB: Selenium script to delete all of your Facebook wall posts

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Re: DeleteFB: Selenium script to delete all of your Facebook wall posts

#271

Post by tripzilch »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #173
darkpuma wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll no doubt soon be scolded for mentioning that quote, but it will continue to be relevant for as long as Zuckerberg's actions continue display that mentality. We'll soon have somebody telling us he said that years ago and people change, but the only thing that changed with Zuck is he became a bit more diplomatic and guarded with his language. Actions speak louder than words and Zuckerberg's actions speak clearly…

Yeah. If there was some evidence that Zuckerberg's overall approach had changed, I too would argue that continually resurfacing an old quote until the the end of time is unfair and unproductive. All of Zuckerberg's and Facebook's actions, however, continue to suggest that his approach hasn't changed.

Yeah, for a funny example, we seem to have (mostly) stopped reminding Google of their old "don't be evil" slogan, since it became obvious their overall approach had changed ;-)

Re: DeleteFB: Selenium script to delete all of your Facebook wall posts

#272

Post by bigiain »

z3c0 wrote: post #132
z3c0 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was the nature of deletion explicitly defined as "deleted records are removed from all databases, data warehouses included"? They technically wouldn't be lying if they only deleted the record from application systems, but retained it in historical data by simply setting a bit flag (eg "IsDeleted") to 1. The question about what motive they have comes down to whether or not the types of posts a person deletes indicate…

I read the audit, and here's something I noticed (other than that it's 8 years old): "In determining appropriate retention periods for personal information, data controllers can have due regard to any statutory obligations to retain data. However, if the purpose for which the information was obtained has ceased and the personal information is no longer required for that purpose, the data must be deleted or disposed o…

The data can be retained so long as Facebook is in the business of targeted advertising, and that's "the purpose for which the information was obtained".

Also, I'm now looking forward to Zuck's next apology for "a breach of trust" and his explanation of how they "failed to live up to their own standards" when it becomes publicly undeniable that their "Full and irrevocable anonymisation" of data they've claimed is deleted is as flawed as all the other attempts we've seen of doing that.

Re: DeleteFB: Selenium script to delete all of your Facebook wall posts

#273

Post by dx034 »

glenneroo wrote: post #242
dx034 wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically tape backups but with a different medium. I'd be surprised if they didn't have any offline backups.

Tape backup is re-writable though isn't it? I had inherited one in the 90s and could re-write, granted it was painfully slow. Or are you saying that Blu-ray is re-writable too? The first iteration I used a few years ago could only write once.

Maybe disks are cheaper, even if you can't reuse them. As an added benefit, you can also restore info from the more distant past if you recognize errors too late.

Re: DeleteFB: Selenium script to delete all of your Facebook wall posts

#276

Post by davvolun »

code_duck wrote: post #267
davvolun wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still not following -- in court for what? This is information that you originally put out, wrote down on Facebook, so it's not that you're hiding something you didn't want anyone to know originally . If it was libelous or something so you wanted to delete it after the fact, it's still likely possible to get it back -- even if Facebook deleted the actual message in the database, there's likely a number of methods…

Plenty of people post things that they shouldn't have and regret. It could be plainly incriminating, like when people ill-advisedly make a post essentially admitting to a crime, threatening someone, or discussing events related to a lawsuit in public. It's possible deleting or obscuring such a post could even be construed to be destruction of evidence. http://www.wassom.com/delete-at-your-own-risk-spoliation-of-... A…

Point being, the ability to edit and view edit history changes very little with regard to the courts. Instead of needing to present Facebook with a subpoena for information from e.g. logs, you're able to simply view history. It doesn't change anything whether you can delete the data or "delete" the data, it just changes how accessible it is.
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