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Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

bbc.com

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Re: Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

#81

Post by JustSomeNobody »

Nextgrid wrote: post #3

I'm no Facebook fan but the reasons behind the lawsuit are bad and could set a bad precedent. Cambridge Analytica used the Facebook API to ask users to share data about them & their friends. Stupid users agreed to that. The argument here isn't that Facebook is playing fast and loose with tracking & user data (which would be a legitimate argument), it's that Facebook is allowing people to grant access to their data to…

> Stupid users agreed to that.

Can we not do this, please? People are being manipulated like never before. Almost anyone is susceptible.

Re: Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

#82

Post by shanemlk »

"I'd just continually sue them for literally anything and everything, even if they didn't break the law. Fuck that zuckerburg cuck. Their apps are literal burning addiction dumpster fire garbage. I hope their offices get struck by a meteorite."

To the people down voting my previous comment, it's time you learned, your significant other is soliciting their genitals on WhatsApp and it's all being used as advertisement information for addictive products on FaceBook the next day. Sorry you don't like the TRUTH. Start thinking with your gut and body in addition to your brain once in a while. You could use some damn serotonin.

Fine, maybe WhatsApp is encrypted... then they're doing it Instagram. Don't be so pedantic.

Re: Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

#83

Post by johnjj257 »

dtech wrote: post #68
stickfigure wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why does Facebook allow people to share the data of others who didn't agree to this? I have names, email addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, email contents, and more for most of my friends. There's no centralized arbiter of this information; I have the ability to share this data in any way I choose. And I do! I switch email providers, install apps on my phone, use calendaring systems, tell our friends where to me…

> I don't need your consent for any of it, because even though the information may be about you, we understand that it's "my" data. You do need content though, if I provide my email in a social setting I implicitly give consent to birthday parties etc. I didn't consent to you selling my email as part of a bundle. If people found out you were providing data to random people at least a stern talking to would happen. Un…

So... Gdpr doesn't apply to individuals or a person who happens to use a random social media app to find out such freely available info

Re: Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

#84

Post by adverbly »

bzb6 wrote: post #10
JKCalhoun wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I may be mistaken, but I understood that "stupid users" allowed access to their friends/contacts as well. I guess I'm stupid too if I have a stupid friend or relative.

If your friend has view access to your profile, why shouldn’t he be able to extract that information via an API as well?

I grant API access to my friend. That is a direct relationship.

I don't grant API access to people that my friend grants API access to.

If one grant allowed for another grant, by that logic you could chain all the way down to any connected node which is clearly not a desirable model.

Data brokers are trying to make it seem like me adding a friend is somehow not a grant so that they can "plus one" on their reach. But it is a grant. It is literally me granting my friend access to my data. Just because the company doesn't call it a grant and doesn't treat it like one on a technical level doesn't change the fact that I have granted my friend access to some data.

Re: Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

#85

Post by Nextgrid »

lm28469 wrote: post #70
Nextgrid wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On on side you have a mega corp doing all it can to harvest as much data as possible, backed by behavioural analysis, AB testing, and all kind of studies on how to trick people's brain into feeding the algorithm with more data points. On the other hand you have "stupid users" This lawsuit is explicitly not about the big tech giant's (Facebook) data processing (which I agree is a problem). The lawsuit is about how F…

> again nobody's data was shared without consent - people explicitly opted to share their data - which includes basic info about their friends, which I'd argue is their data too - with Cambridge Analytica You frame this as if it was a logical train of thought but it isn't to me (and apparently I'm not the only one). You're not to decide what the UK courts determine to be acceptable or not and imho you're reasoning is…

If we agree with your reasoning it would mean that simply getting a new phone would involve me calling/texting everyone in my contacts list to ask for their consent for me to enter their numbers on my new phone since I'm potentially sharing their details with a third-party.

> Facebook has a systemic issue with the way they harvest, handle, share and monetise their users data, this case is just a drop in the ocean of sketchy things they've done

How did Facebook benefit from this? Facebook got duped just like everyone else. CA did not disclose their intentions when they got access to the Facebook API because they wouldn't have got that access otherwise as their actions were against the FB API terms of use.

There's a bit of a witch hunt going on about Facebook, and while I despise that company and want to see it gone too, this is just an outraged mob clutching at straws. They can't go after Cambridge Analytica nor the people behind it (and I guess can't be bothered to vote/lobby for a legislative change so that those people can be prosecuted) so they're venting their anger on the next best thing: Facebook, even though they're a neutral party in this case.

Re: Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

#86

Post by bloodorange »

stickfigure wrote: post #43
ginko wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The argument here isn't that Facebook is playing fast and loose with tracking & user data (which would be a legitimate argument), it's that Facebook is allowing people to grant access to their data to third-parties and Facebook should somehow be faulted for that. Even so you wrote yourself that users shared data about their friends. Why does Facebook allow people to share the data of others who didn't agree to this?

> Why does Facebook allow people to share the data of others who didn't agree to this? I have names, email addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, email contents, and more for most of my friends. There's no centralized arbiter of this information; I have the ability to share this data in any way I choose. And I do! I switch email providers, install apps on my phone, use calendaring systems, tell our friends where to me…

While a surprise birthday party etc. is definitely not a problem for me, if any of my friends considered my address, phone number etc. as his/her data, there'd be a rather serious conversation about it.

Re: Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

#87

Post by nvoid »

Nasrudith wrote: post #52
nvoid wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm no Facebook fan I like how we have to preface our opinions with this now. I think if you're on HN it's a given at this point. I would agree with you that there are a lot of stupid people on the site and they will still find away to do something stupid. But I despise harsh regulation and I don't think that's necessarily the solution. However, when the stakes are so high (elections) I think there is something to…

The stakes change nothing about who is actually responsible. If a terrorist steals your car and uses it for an attack does that mean it is right to hold you accountable because the matter is so serious? Facebook is not your parent. That logic, that others need to be "held accountable" and that voters are children who cannot be trusted to make up their own minds is far more dangerous to democracy than the Cambridge An…

Sorry, should have made it clearer that Cambridge Analytica are the child in my analogy, but I think your point still stands.

I don't think voters are children and I agree with you that that is dangerous thinking, but I do think that showing advertisements based off of data they didn't know they gave in order to change their vote is not the way to allow them to make their own decisions.

Re: Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

#88

Post by Nextgrid »

manux wrote: post #41
lm28469 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Stupid users agreed to that. This is on the level of "poor people should just stop being poor" or "she was raped because she didn't dress decently enough" On on side you have a mega corp doing all it can to harvest as much data as possible, backed by behavioural analysis, AB testing, and all kind of studies on how to trick people's brain into feeding the algorithm with more data points. On the other hand you have "…

Yeah, this whole "people are stupid" argument is incredibly dismissive. Not surprising of tech people's giant ego. Do people really want their doctor to invest several hours a week understanding the latest shenanigans and dangers of technology? Or should we just let our doctors be good doctors? Replace "doctor" by any other non-tech profession you respect, and you get my point. This isn't even about protecting "stupi…

I absolutely think regulation should be in place to protect against people/companies acting maliciously (thus preventing a Cambridge Analytica from existing in the first place), and I guess the reason people were so trusting is because they do expect such regulations to exist.

However, I disagree with modifying/removing a legitimate feature (API access) just because it can be abused. Otherwise, why not go further and also ban knives (or go after supermarkets that sell them) to solve knife crime?

Re: Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data

#89

Post by shanemlk »

twinge wrote: post #80
shanemlk wrote: post #66

I'd just continually sue them for literally anything and everything, even if they didn't break the law. Fuck that zuckerburg cuck. Their apps are literal burning addiction dumpster fire garbage. I hope their offices get struck by a meteorite.

In what way is he a cuck?

It's a fucking slang term, Jesus Christ. It's a way of showing disrespect for someone who's clearly a loser on a temper tantrum. Maybe he does get tied up by his wife, I don't care, the point is that zuckerburg has caused more damage to the Earth than good, not sure why I have to defend myself here.
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