Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress • Hacker News Board

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#251

Post by decebalus1 » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:34 PM UTC

18pfsmt wrote: post #203

Some poor Senator just went on a rabbit hunt to discuss FB's bug bounty program. Who are these Congressional staffers? Tech illiteracy is on full-display; we're not even talking 'power-users' (who were on UseNet, btw), these people are lost. Zuckerberg had to be gracious and say his team would follow-up on many things that it was clear the Senator didn't even understand. This is supposed to be our smart chamber.

> Zuckerberg had to be gracious and say his team would follow-up on many things that it was clear the Senator didn't even understand

IMO on way too many things, even when it was clear that the senators did understand what they were asking.. and it wasn't because of grace or politeness, it was the new 'I plead the fifth'

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#252

Post by HillaryBriss » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:37 PM UTC

kzrdude wrote: post #214

18pfsmt wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a joke, and everyone was laughing. Biggest audience response of the testimony.

It's nice that the room understood that american exceptionalism is a joke.

It's not just a joke. It's the best joke.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#253

Post by zamalek » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:37 PM UTC

munk-a wrote: post #236

zamalek wrote: post #221

I'm an extremely reluctant Facebook user (having recently moved countries, my whole family and all my friends are on it). I strongly dislike the company; I don't trust the CEO. My use of the platform is in moderation and occurs within a Firefox container. > Zuckerberg (opening testimony): I failed. I'm sorry. All of that being said, that's some serious growth in maturity, and I'd like to see more of it across the tec…

A good friend of mine once told me to "stop apologizing and fix it" when I was in middle school. Reflecting on that made me realize how empty apologies can be and spurred some self improvement. It's not as if Zuckerberg could've shown up today with a patch file and gone through how he hacked the problems out of the platform last night with some red bull. But the apologies need to be seen as empty and we've all got to…

I agree completely - this is why my opinion of Facebook hasn't yet changed. However, you have to admit fault before you can resolve it. The alternative would have been "we are giving users a sense of pride and accomplishment with their likes."

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#254

Post by paxys » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:38 PM UTC

mercer wrote: post #26

Wow. I didn't expect that he'd speak in favor of 'special features like facial recognition' by arguing that it's how we can be competitive with 'other regimes like China'. That seems like a comparison I'd avoid if I was facebook.

Not if you're talking a group of Senators who have always voted for state-sponsored spying on citizens.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#255

Post by forgot-my-pw » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:38 PM UTC

mercer wrote: post #157

_bxg1 wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Senator: "If I email someone over WhatsApp about Black Panther, will I see ads about Black Panther?" Zuckerberg: "WhatsApp messages are fully encrypted." S: "But can it spit out some algorithmic thing that will affect ads?" Z: "Facebook's systems don't see the content of your messages." S: "But could they talk to each other , even if no human ever sees the content?"

It's so frustrating how close they get to asking the real questions...

"The Facebook hearing is the greatest generational divide I’ve ever seen. It’s like watching WWII generals question somebody on drone strikes and cyberwarfare."

https://twitter.com/eugenegu/status/983788172306874369

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#256

Post by 2_listerine_pls » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:39 PM UTC

Codestare wrote: post #249

US senators demonstrating they are embarrassingly out of touch with the current age. Also sad to see a senator resorting to dramatic effects like taking off his glasses before making a grand statement. These people are running your country?

It's not a meritocracy

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#257

Post by paxys » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:40 PM UTC

drexlspivey wrote: post #158

I call BS on actual deleting all user data when someone deletes his account. If some whistle blower proves otherwise is he liable for prosecution for perjury?

There is zero chance Zuckerberg is perjuring himself in front of the Senate. There is probably some obscure legal meaning of "delete" that Facebook follows.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#258

Post by rootusrootus » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:41 PM UTC

nopriorarrests wrote: post #238

lakechfoma wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he was trying to get at something here though: can you run a business that is free for some people and isn't ad based? To which I think the answer could be nuanced. Maybe a large enough population pays $4/month and can thus subsidize some part of the population that doesn't have that privilege. Note I'm not actually advocating that, just saying I want to give the guy a benefit of the doubt that he was trying…

>large enough population pays $4/month and can thus subsidize some part of the population Just in case, FB ARPU in US in Q4 2017 was $27. People who talk about "i ready to pay 10$ per year if im not tracked and not exposed to ads" _seriously_ underestimate FB money-printing ability. Think about it, FB makes almost as much as NFLX per US user (admittedly in Q4, the hottest quarter in advertising), but you dont need to…

If someone comes along with a service that fulfills the same niche that Facebook does, charges $9/month, and has a guaranteed (audited) enforcement of personal privacy ... I'd do it. I like being connected to my family & some friends.

The problem is getting from zero to critical mass with that model. Though I guess that doesn't stop a lot of other companies with less plausible revenue sources from getting seemingly endless money thrown at them.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#259

Post by Zimahl » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:41 PM UTC

vubuntu wrote: post #231

Some more important questions to ask : Facebooks customers are the ad buyers. I and my data is the product. Mark says I should have control over which of my personal data is shared to whom. 1) But can I control which of my behavioral data (ad clicks, etc) can be collected and used by facebook and provided to the ad buyers? Can I say nothing be collected , even in anonymized manner? 2) Primary selling point to ad buye…

Ads and the data used for those ads aren't the really the issue, and that's a problem that people don't realize. The issue is that entities can utilize the Facebook platform to target specific individuals (or specific groups of individuals) and bombard them with disinformation that looks like legitimate information.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress

#260

Post by f4rker » Tue, Apr 10, 2018, 10:41 PM UTC

Codestare wrote: post #249

US senators demonstrating they are embarrassingly out of touch with the current age. Also sad to see a senator resorting to dramatic effects like taking off his glasses before making a grand statement. These people are running your country?

You sound new