Shutting the door after the horse has bolted ?
At the centre of the row is University of Cambridge professor Aleksandr Kogan who, according to Facebook, made a "personality app" that gathered data he then sold to third parties. Facebook said it had received reports that Cambridge Analytica and others had not destroyed all the data that was obtained, in breach of Facebook policies. Cambridge Analytica maintains it deleted the data after it was requested by Facebook.
Because they're sooooo trustworthy.
The BBC has not yet been able to reach Prof Kogan. Facebook said the suspension would remain in place “pending further information”.
Cambridge Analytica, which is not connected with the University of Cambridge, recently rose to prominence for its significant role in US President Drumpf’s election campaign, where it provided intricate data on the thoughts of American voters. Former presidential advisor Steve Bannon was on its board of directors. The company also played a role in the Brexit referendum campaign.
Prof Kogan is said to have created an app called “thisisyourdigitallife”. It was accessed by approximately 270,000 people, Facebook said. Users who downloaded it were told they were taking a personality prediction test that was part of a "research app used by psychologists”.
While that was initially true - Prof Kogan is a psychologist - Facebook said the data was then kept and sold on to third-parties including Cambridge Analytica and its parent company Strategic Communications Laboratories. Another recipient was said to be an employee at Eunoia Technologies.
I dunno if social media, overall, does more harm than good, but I'm pretty sure that data harvesting by companies looking to micro-target individuals to change their voting preferences is pretty darn sinister.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43440043
Well, Facebook may spying his users, and sell it to others, but you should give them they piece. So if you profit too much, they will close his shop for you.
ReplyDeleteI suppose they trying to do the same, so at first is just mitigation of competition