Facebook Data Collection scrutinized as #deleteFacebook gathers steam
Once in a while we get a story that shocks us so much that we actually lift our heads from our lives
and say hang on, what’s going on here. Well, Facebook has such a story for us. Turns out, Facebook
made available information for 50 million people to a company named Cambridge Analytica. These
guys used it during the 2016 presidential elections to give President Trump a leg up against his
opponents. But then at the same time, you might ask yourself, what has that to do with the price of
sugar and beer in Shandumbala? Bear with me as I try to explain.
Here is the story in short.
Cambridge Analytica is a British political consulting firm which combines data mining, data
brokerage, and data analysis with strategic communication for the electoral process. In short, they
collect data in whatever ways and tries to manipulate that data to use for their clients. In this
particular case they used personality polls on Facebook to get access to data.
So how this worked was that about 270,000 agreed to take a paid personality test from the company
and agreed to have their data collected and used for academic purposes. However, they went above
this and also got access to information on friends without their permission. So, from the original 270
thousand people who took the personality test, they had access to in-depth data for about 50 million
users, users who had not given Cambridge Analytica permission to access this data.
I have a lot of Facebook friends who like clicking all sorts of things. So how this would affect me is
that a friend of mine would take this personality test and all of a sudden, this company through
Facebook would have access to all my data which can then be manipulated and sold to third party
companies. When this came out, there was and is still a loud noise and stink about Facebook’s
policies regarding data protection. Many people have started the #deleteFacebook campaign and it
has gained a lot of steam with many celebrities and users vowing to delete their Facebook accounts.
Some people might balk from the idea of deleting their Facebook accounts, but given that these
kinds of breaches are even possible, we really should be on the lookout on what information we
willingly share. We really should be weary of apps that request permissions that have nothing to do
with their core purposes on our mobile phones. But this is advice that people never take seriously till
something like this happens. It is possible to live your life normally without social media. But some
might find this pill too bitter to swallow.
For those really considering deleting their Facebook accounts, its actually quite easy. You can even
request Facebook to allow you to download all your data including those pictures of your favorite
uncle and selfies you have been posting these past few years in one large file.
If you open your Facebook account on your computer and click on settings, you will see an option
named Download a copy of your Facebook Data. Click it and go through the wizard and download all
your information. You will be surprised by what Facebook knows about you.
Will you delete your Facebook account?
