So the most popular social media and social networking service company based in California, Facebook Inc (FB), which launched its website on February 4, 2004, is again in controversy. This time the trouble for the company is deeper as the anger against the company is globally going epidemic. The way Facebook gained unparalleled popularity in connecting individuals, societies and communities across the globe, same way this social networking site is now losing the trust of people. In a way, this social networking site is emerging as one of the effective vehicles of disinformation campaign.
This time privacy scandal, very serious in nature, has hit Facebook. Now, the growing global unrest against the Facebook only reveals that people have started reconsidering their relationship status with this social networking platform. Notably, the scandal involves user data breach which influenced in some measure, the course of the 2016 US elections through a campaign of fake news and targeted advertisement on Facebook.
Let me track the genesis of the fraud. It started in 2014, when an academic of Russian origin Aleksandr Kogan created a Facebook app which paid thousands of users to take a psychological test. The app asked the users for the personal details of their Facebook friends. Then Kogan sold the same data to Cambridge Analytica, which is a voter profiling company in US.
The first breach of data happened when Kogan in contravention to the Facebook policy sold the data to Cambridge Analytica. Facebook policy does not allow to use the data collected through App for commercial purposes. Even as Facebook has suspended Cambridge Analytica and Kogan, the anger against the social networking site for this breach of trust is growing across countries where governments as well as users are criticising it.
While having a look at the journey of Facebook, incidentally a listed US company, since its inception dating back to 2004, it has registered its unmatched spectacular way up in corporate history. We haven’t seen a company so much a part of society and so capable of brining social change in communities. Even, it has forced governments to realign their governance patterns across the globe. However, in this amazing journey, Facebook has overlooked the risk factors which are detrimental to the interests of the users. These risk factors have only got swelled up with ascent in the popularity and use of the social networking site. While registering on the site, the users usually consider it as a safe haven for storing their personal data in digital form. Commonly, the users get this confidence through user IDs and passwords which they think are key to access their accounts anytime and anywhere. Now the kind of privacy scandal which has taken its users by storm, only indicates that the layers of user IDs and passwords do not guarantee protection of the data which one stores on the site.
Precisely, Facebook Inc has ditched its users. Allowing its platform, willingly or unwillingly, to be manipulated by undesirable elements and use it against systems and processes of a country, or even using it against the interests of individuals, socities, communities etc is a crime. Expressing ignorance of risk factors is no excuse and the Facebook Inc is a fit case for prosecution.
However, the onus also lies on its users to teach a lesson to the social networking site. They are the sole pillars of its popularity. The users need to reassure themselves on safety front – whether their personal data is purely confidential or open to public consumption.
It is believed to be ‘sitting on billions of dollars in cash and no debt either. Now after revelations of the company selling their personal data only to be misused for reaping benefits, the users only can bring its popularity and performance down considerably. Let me here share a study by research firm eMarketer. The firm says that Facebook lost 2.8 million users under the age of 25 last year, with its worst fall coming in the 12-17 age group where it lost some 1.4 million users. This indicates meaningful drop in its network.
Meanwhile, it’s not only leaking of user-data which is worrisome. In fact, most of the content posted on the site too needs scrutiny. Over a period of time, Facebook has been used more to spread falsehood than to promote truth. This misuse of the platform has been taking individuals, societies and communities for a ride. This has also resulted in their reputational damage and simultaneously causing economical and financial loss. In light of this, Facebook Inc needs to be made accountable for allowing to spread falsehood on its platform.
(The views are of the author & not the institution he works for)