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Dear Facebook: Withdraw Your Cease and Desist to NYU

foundation.mozilla.org

21–30 of 31 posts

Re: Dear Facebook: Withdraw Your Cease and Desist to NYU

#22
post #5

This may be addressed to Facebook, but it's clearly written for a different audience. Accusing Facebook of impure motives and outright deception may feel good for Mozilla's staff, but it won't convince Facebook to change their stance. And let's not forget, Facebook is trying to draw a clear line against data exfiltration, to prevent another Cambridge Analytica disaster. I really think this is just more posturing by M…

It seems apparent to me that any open letter should be primarily written to pander to a broad, general audience and only tangentially for the named "recepient". It is the readers of the letter that are intended to convince Facebook to change their stance.

Re: Dear Facebook: Withdraw Your Cease and Desist to NYU

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about that question is unresolved? If you tell me your name, I have the right to tell others your name unless I have specifically contracted that right away. Same if you tell me your age or your address or that you If I see you in class, I have the right to tell anybody that I saw you in class. If you give me a note to pass to Pat, I have the right to disclose that unless I have contracted that right away or fal…

Do you also agree that FB was unfairly raked through the coals in the Cambridge Analytica (CA) case and that they (FB) weren't actually at fault? I do, but at least I am consistent. If the what happened in the CA incident is wrong, the NYU incident is wrong too (ethically. I am not a lawyer and can't comment on legality). If CA was not wrong, this isn't wrong either. Since at least in the court of public opinion, CA…

CA used deceptive practices to collect user data, & downloaded personally identifiable information for u users and their friends without notification or consent, unlike NYU. Those are significant differences.

Re: Dear Facebook: Withdraw Your Cease and Desist to NYU

#24
post #5

This may be addressed to Facebook, but it's clearly written for a different audience. Accusing Facebook of impure motives and outright deception may feel good for Mozilla's staff, but it won't convince Facebook to change their stance. And let's not forget, Facebook is trying to draw a clear line against data exfiltration, to prevent another Cambridge Analytica disaster. I really think this is just more posturing by M…

Yeah, ‘cause you know I’ve got nothing better to do all day than wait for another open letter from my employer’s parent foundation. /s

Re: Dear Facebook: Withdraw Your Cease and Desist to NYU

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you also agree that FB was unfairly raked through the coals in the Cambridge Analytica (CA) case and that they (FB) weren't actually at fault? I do, but at least I am consistent. If the what happened in the CA incident is wrong, the NYU incident is wrong too (ethically. I am not a lawyer and can't comment on legality). If CA was not wrong, this isn't wrong either. Since at least in the court of public opinion, CA…

CA used deceptive practices to collect user data, & downloaded personally identifiable information for u users and their friends without notification or consent, unlike NYU. Those are significant differences.

CA didn't do any of those things. They purchased some data an academic had collected from a FB quiz app.

There's absolutely nothing stopping one of the NYU academics from selling the data they collect for their study to "Cambridge Analytica 2.0" in 12 months. If that happens, which FB would not be able to stop, this situation become identical to the CA scenario. There would be no significant differences.

Re: Dear Facebook: Withdraw Your Cease and Desist to NYU

#27
post #15

A lot of comments I've seen draw the line between NYU's extension and Cambridge Analytica because the latter was using a native platform. But that feels like a distinction without a difference, if the net effect is still that "something I shared with my friend ended up in a third party's possession". Ultimately, if something has been shared with me, should I be able to save it or reshare it with others? The mechanism…

I only vaguely recall the details but GDPR defines the concepts of Data Controllers, Data Subjects, and Data Processors, and has statements on rights for EU citizens.

Re: Dear Facebook: Withdraw Your Cease and Desist to NYU

#28
post #15

A lot of comments I've seen draw the line between NYU's extension and Cambridge Analytica because the latter was using a native platform. But that feels like a distinction without a difference, if the net effect is still that "something I shared with my friend ended up in a third party's possession". Ultimately, if something has been shared with me, should I be able to save it or reshare it with others? The mechanism…

I only vaguely recall the details but GDPR defines the concepts of Data Controllers, Data Subjects, and Data Processors, and has statements on rights for EU citizens.

Hm I'm wasn't able to find any definitive sources to explain what GDPR does / does not allow in this case. Most of the articles I could find seem to think that GDPR would have prevented CA because it requires explicit user consent to access personal data. However it is unclear to me whether that consent needs to be from the user or from the users friends?

Re: Dear Facebook: Withdraw Your Cease and Desist to NYU

#29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you also agree that FB was unfairly raked through the coals in the Cambridge Analytica (CA) case and that they (FB) weren't actually at fault? I do, but at least I am consistent. If the what happened in the CA incident is wrong, the NYU incident is wrong too (ethically. I am not a lawyer and can't comment on legality). If CA was not wrong, this isn't wrong either. Since at least in the court of public opinion, CA…

CA used deceptive practices to collect user data, & downloaded personally identifiable information for u users and their friends without notification or consent, unlike NYU. Those are significant differences.

But AFAIK both CA and NYU got "consent" to access data from the users who installed their game/extension, but neither are asking consent from users' friends (ie the crux of the CA scandal).

Re: Dear Facebook: Withdraw Your Cease and Desist to NYU

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Perhaps some lawyers would offer to assist in representing NYU pro bono should Facebook file a complaint. Look at the list of signatories. Mozilla Foundation, EFF, etc....there is no shortage of lawyers involved in this.

Wouldn't Facebook have to claim exclusive ownership of user data to have any standing in a legal action within the USA? That seems highly unlikely to me. In the unlikely event that Facebook did push its luck, NYU has perfectly qualified lawyers of its own. This isn't about poor helpless NYU. It is clearly a PR move to make loud public noise about Facebook misbehavior, mostly about questionable ad practices. The cease…

I responded to a comment that was later edited to remove the statement with which I took issue. I agree with you.
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