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Latest Facebook Data Scandal?
bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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I'm surprised this hasn't been discussed yet. In fact, it's a little bit hard to even learn about it. I think I heard it mentioned on the radio before I ever saw anything about it online. It's as if discussion about it has been suppressed, or as if the majority of people are so brainwashed by Facebook that they don't care.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/cambridge-analytica-files

Apparently a shitton of data was leaked through an "app", and even though Facebook knew about it years ago, they didn't fess up to it or go to any length to correct the problem. And we all know it's not the first time. It's not hard to imagine there must be hundreds or thousands of apps doing the same thing even today.

Personally, I haven't touched the site in almost a decade. I don't trust social networks because it's evident that they only care about money and their business model is exploiting their users. Sadly, despite many efforts, I cannot convince my peers around me to listen.

Thoughts? Are any of you using Facebook and considering leaving? Or do you use it and don't care about the data breaches? Or are you like me and try your best to block it?

I do use Google products, such as Gmail and YouTube, but I don't particularly trust them either. I try to limit what information I give them too, within reason, but I think we all know Google is also far beyond "don't be evil".

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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I think it's funny that liberals only suddenly care about our private data being sold, because it's linked to the Russians.

As if "Selling user data" wouldn't be a huge market for nation stations. ::)

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"Political Correctness is fascism disguised as manners" --George Carlin

MiquelFire
Member #3,110
January 2003
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I don't have a Facebook account.

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Neil Roy
Member #2,229
April 2002
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I got a kick how some closed their Facebook accounts and stuck with Twitter, like that is safer.

Sorry folks, but if you haven't figured out that any data you enter on any website will be collected and used by unknown sources, you never will.

About the only place I expect my data to be 100% safe is online banking. Social media pages? Well, I expect others to see it. You won't learn much about me on Facebook that I already haven't told everyone. I no longer use credit cards, not that I would enter that info on Facebook anyhow.

There's too many Liberals on Twitter which caused me to close that account a while back, I won't go there again. I think Twitter has shown itself to be worse than Facebook as it's own employees have messed with user data in the past, but they're liberal friendly so lets not talk about that again.

I'll stay on Facebook. I'm at "https://www.facebook.com/neil.roy", but beware, I discuss my personal religious beliefs there, as well as lots of humour. Most of my posts are public as I don't have much to hide.

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“I love you too.” - last words of Wanda Roy

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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I think it's funny that liberals only suddenly care about our private data being sold, because it's linked to the Russians.

It is indeed stupid that they're concerned if it was linked to the Russians. Even if the election was tampered with by Americans only, it should still piss everybody off because it's still tampering! Of course, you don't even need tampering for the electorate process to be corrupt. It's corrupt by design. And yet, the majority is completely blind to this, and worries about meaningless ghost stories instead... It's just sickening. But don't let the American presidential races distract us from Facebook. Facebook's lack of privacy is far more important than which puppet you think you put in power.

Neil Roy
Member #2,229
April 2002
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“I love you too.” - last words of Wanda Roy

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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Neil Roy said:

Sorry folks, but if you haven't figured out that any data you enter on any website will be collected and used by unknown sources, you never will.

It's not just the data that you enter. It's any data whatsoever that the browser allows the site to gain access to. And not just on that site. Trackers are embedded in Web sites all over the Internet so that your activity across the entire Web can be tracked and linked to your identity. It's not just that they have your photos of your wife holding snakes. It's far deeper than that. They can link all of your data together and form a "profile" of you that could give them secret insights into things that you didn't even know about yourself. The potential power of that knowledge is concerning. It certainly should give you pause when it comes to politics and religion, and your freedom and control over your life.

Quote:

Most of my posts are public as I don't have much to hide.

You don't need to have anything to hide for it to be used against you. This is a common mistake people make.

Eric Johnson
Member #14,841
January 2013
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Just another example why you shouldn't put any information out there that you can't afford to have made public or harvested.

I use Facebook but don't post anything identifiable. I don't even use my real name. So I don't care.

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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I use Facebook but don't post anything identifiable. I don't even use my real name. So I don't care.

They don't need real names to identify you. They can link the various pieces of data that they collect about you to form a nameless "profile" which is detailed enough to pretty much identify you. It might not have your name, but it's close enough to where with access to some other databases that do have your name, they could link it together. For example, somebody with access to government data could potentially take the information available about you online through trackers, form a profile about who that person might be, and cross reference it with the government data to say, with some probability, that it could be you. The whole point is that you have zero control over what information they're actually collecting about you. I'm not quite sure what access to the Web page data (e.g., if you're filling in your name for shipping) can be accessed by the third party JavaScript used for trackers, but I'd expect all of it unless the browser is doing some fancy cross-site blocking (without bugs). So go ahead and start "anonymous" with a fake profile, but before long if you aren't blocking this stuff, you're likely to give them your true identity anyway and a whole lot more that you hadn't thought of.

Neil Roy
Member #2,229
April 2002
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I am just not a paranoid person. I'm 53, so how many more years have I got left? ;D... do their worst. I fully expect to be arrested for my beliefs some day, but that is prophecy, and my beliefs include faith in an Almighty to protect me, so... I just don't worry. Not preaching, just giving my reasons for not worrying. If I go to jail for my beliefs, I actually don't completely consider that a bad thing nessecarily, though I would rather not. I discuss a lot and help a few people on Facebook (one lady recently via private messages actually), so the benefits outweigh any risks I can see.

I would honestly be more worried (if I worried, which I don't) about Cell phones than Facebook. They track your browsing and your actual movements as well as lots more. Glad I don't use one. I don't have any smart devices.

Much of the tracking that is used is often just for advertising purposes, to direct ads that you are most likely to buy, which is fine by me... if they can get past my ad blocking that is. ;)

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“I love you too.” - last words of Wanda Roy

LennyLen
Member #5,313
December 2004
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I don't use social media much. I have had several FaceBook accounts, but I tend to use them so rarely that I forget the passwords and because I change my phone numbers so frequently I can never get back in to my account again when I forget the password. There's never been much personal info associated with them, not even photos of myself or other people (people don't interest me much).

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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Neil Roy said:

I would honestly be more worried (if I worried, which I don't) about Cell phones than Facebook. They track your browsing and your actual movements as well as lots more.

I will definitely agree with that. Mobile phones are a real problem for privacy. They try at every chance to violate your privacy, and even if you don't expressly permit any "apps" to spy on you, the firmware itself that runs the radio bits is always proprietary so the government and hackers and anybody else with the right strings can easily get in. I refrained from using a phone for years, but ultimately submitted because I was paying $30/mo for a "phone line" which was actually served over coaxial cable so it went dead when the power was out and though it might surprise you to hear this I really don't make very many phone calls in a month. I try to be as paranoid as is realistic about my phone. I encrypt it, try to use the strongest lock mechanisms, and try to move it away from me when I explicitly don't want it listening in. Still I always consider it a source of harm. If there was a good, free (as in speech) solution I'd be using that instead. I hope people smarter than I figure one out soon.

Of course, the majority of people that use Facebook also have it on their phone.. And I'm sure Facebook uses every permission available, and its users don't even question it. Most Facebook users actually are predominantly on their phone. It's just the way society has gone. Nevermind the mouse, which already sucked as an input device. Now we use touch screens that are about 20% of the size of a mousepad in 1995, and that's about how it feels when you're trying to accomplish something that matters to you.

Neil Roy
Member #2,229
April 2002
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I have never owned a cell phone, like, ever. And I doubt I ever will. I own a landline and my wife has her own number (she doesn't own a cell either). My phone is actually unplugged most of the time as all I get are advertisements and the like. I MIGHT get one call a year I actually want. I am not a phone person at all. It is on cable, so when the power is out, so is it... and I don't care. Actually, scratch that, it CAN be active when the power is out as the cable box has a battery backup, but often if the power is out, it is out for the cable company too. But... again... I never talk on it so I don't really care. I keep the phone line because I only pay $10 extra a month for it, so it is someplace for the annoying calls to go other than my wife's line which is always available. :)

When I see cops or people at an airport take someone's cellphone and then go snooping through it without a warrant, like they have some sort of right to do that, than no, I won't own one. Actually, I rarely do text chats either. I got all that out of my system decades ago, before the internet took off, I was on BBSes, and after the internet I chatted up a storm on IRCs and a little on ICQ etc... had my fill of it. I am on Facebook but my chat is always off usually. Though I will chat with people who need help, that I don't mind. Idle chatter just isn't my thing. I would prefer to meet in person and go for a coffee. More personal, and no record of what we said. ;)

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“I love you too.” - last words of Wanda Roy

raynebc
Member #11,908
May 2010

As mentioned, this Cambridge Analytica "scandal" is a total non-story for anybody who's been paying attention. The people who are outraged have finally awoken to the fact that this data can be used by more than just one political party and all of a sudden it's now an outrage.

Neil Roy
Member #2,229
April 2002
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Just blame Trump for it and get it over with. ;)

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“I love you too.” - last words of Wanda Roy

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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Remember when Obama (and then Hillary) were directly working with Google's CEO to "optimize their campaign."

https://qz.com/823922/eric-schmidt-played-a-crucial-role-in-team-hillarys-election-tech/

Hypocrisy. Overload.

(Or how Democrats never got this mad when the USA manipulates other people's elections...)

-----sig:
“Programs should be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.” - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
"Political Correctness is fascism disguised as manners" --George Carlin

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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raynebc said:

As mentioned, this Cambridge Analytica "scandal" is a total non-story for anybody who's been paying attention. The people who are outraged have finally awoken to the fact that this data can be used by more than just one political party and all of a sudden it's now an outrage.

You think mass data breeches are not stories? This story isn't about politics. It's about goddamn security and privacy!

Neil Roy
Member #2,229
April 2002
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I'm still trying to figure out what information on Facebook I would be truly worried about becoming public. All my Facebook posts are generally public, so you don't even have to friend me to see them. I don't send dick pics to people in private... well... I actually sent ONE to my wife as a joke. ;D But that's it. She laughed hilariously, which I don't know if I should take as an insult or not. :P

Other than that... I don't care, and I don't even care about that to be honest! I just don't worry anymore. ;)

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“I love you too.” - last words of Wanda Roy

Dizzy Egg
Member #10,824
March 2009
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Neil Roy said:

Other than that... I don't care

Good for you.

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Derezo
Member #1,666
April 2001
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bamccaig said:

This story isn't about politics.

Cambridge Analytica was heavily involved in politics -- and not just US politics! They were involved in many political elections in countries across Europe and Africa. The creation of the company is tied to people with political and military agendas. It's absolutely about politics! :-/

The right has spoken and I think that's enough support for the left already in this thread.

"He who controls the stuffing controls the Universe"

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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Politicians are interested in figuring out ways to make you vote for them? That never happens. That isn't very interesting. What's interesting (important) is how they're able to collect the data (social networking and Web tracking) and deliver the messaging (likely advertising networks).

raynebc
Member #11,908
May 2010

bamccaig said:

You think mass data breeches are not stories?

My understanding is this does not qualify as a data breach or hack. People installed an app to which they gave access to their information, and their information was collected. Just like tons of other apps do.

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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Their information and all of their friends of friends of friends' information was collected. Tons of apps do this, but that doesn't make it acceptable. Facebook admitted that it was a problem and told them they had to delete the data years ago, but didn't actually follow up to ensure they deleted it. And they didn't. There's no question that any wrongdoing occurred. We know it did.

raynebc
Member #11,908
May 2010

Then they're going to have to overhaul what kind of data apps can collect and how it's used. This will probably disrupt the revenue model of many tech companies, and I wonder what the reaction to that will look like.

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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That's essentially what the problem is. Facebook doesn't take privacy seriously. It never has. It prioritizes its revenue streams over its users privacy. Their entire business model is exploiting clueless users and selling their information. It's unethical and should be illegal because people don't know any better. Facebook isn't likely going to change anything because this works very well for them. And so, people such as myself, won't go near it.

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