By Deepa Seetharaman and Katherine Bindley
This week's uproar over Facebook Inc. started years ago, with
the mishandling of user data. Now that incident, and what followed,
is at the center of a debate over how well the world's largest
social network protects its trove of user data.
What is the current fuss about?
The crisis arose from news that Cambridge Analytica, a data firm
with ties to President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, had improperly
accessed data on tens of millions of Facebook users.
In 2007, Facebook provided deep access to app creators and
academics. Developers built games, dating apps and other
social-friendly software. Meanwhile, researchers and marketers
conducted their own studies. By 2015, Facebook clamped down on
access, citing user privacy concerns.
But Facebook said it learned in 2015 that Aleksandr Kogan, a
psychology professor at the University of Cambridge, broke its data
policies when he shared Facebook user data gleaned from his
personality-prediction app with others including Cambridge
Analytica. The data included not just information on people who
downloaded the app but about 30 different data points about those
people's Facebook friends, a surprisingly long reach.
Harvesting the data was allowed at the time, but sharing with
others wasn't. Facebook said it had received assurances the
improperly accessed data had been deleted. The company later
learned that wasn't true and couldn't independently confirm what
data had been scrubbed.
Why does this that matter so much?
Because it touches on longstanding fears about the enormous
amount of information Facebook collects -- it has nearly two
billion users around the globe -- and how that data is used.
When Facebook began suggesting friends to tag in photos posted
to the social network, the feature ignited concerns the company
surveilled people's data. A conspiracy theory suggests Facebook
listens to people through the microphones on their smartphones. (It
says it isn't.)
Years of controversies came to a head during the 2016 U.S.
election, when it was revealed that a handful of Russian actors
manipulated Facebook users by spreading misinformation on the
social network.
How much data does Facebook really have?
When people use Facebook, they volunteer large amounts of
information. It starts with what the social network calls a public
profile: name, profile picture, cover photo, gender, networks and
user ID.
But it also covers a person's hometown, religious and political
affiliations, work and education histories, and stated relationship
interests (i.e., your sexual orientation).
Facebook also keeps tabs on every photo and video that has been
uploaded, every post ever written, every place on the map that has
been tagged, and every page -- on Facebook or out in the web --
that users ever "liked" with a click or tap.
In short, whatever users have volunteered to Facebook or
interacted with on Facebook becomes part of a profile that can be
accessed by developers and targeted by advertisers.
How do app developers get Facebook data?
Many apps and websites offer the option for people to sign in
with Facebook. (Some even require it.) Until now, those apps and
sites had access to the information in the public profiles.
Going forward, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg says,
the only information apps and websites will receive by default will
be a person's name, profile picture and email address. He also said
Facebook would curb an app's access to data if a person hasn't used
that app in three months.
With permission from the user and from Facebook itself, app
developers can -- and do -- get far more. Upon login, the services
can ask for specifics such as a friend list, birthday or political
beliefs. Before 2015, Facebook even let developers pull detailed
information about friends, too. While Facebook has tightened rules,
people should check their settings with this guide to see what
might still be leaking out.
How does Facebook use this data? Does it give it to
advertisers?
Facebook executives stress the company doesn't sell data
directly to advertisers. Handing over user data would be bad for
Facebook's business model, they argue.
What Facebook does is use that trove of information to build
targeting tools that can be used by advertisers. The user data is
supposed to ensure the ads users see are ones they would actually
click on. Marketers can also pay to promote nonadvertising content,
such as a post containing a news article, and target it with the
same sharp focus.
Facebook also uses data in other ways, including creating a
personalized news feed for everyone, every time they log on.
What fixes did Facebook announce Thursday and how significant
are they?
Mr. Zuckerberg admitted the company has made mistakes and
apologized for the controversy over how it handles user data. He
said Facebook will investigate any other potential abuses by app
developers who have had access to large amounts of people's
data.
Facebook plans to map out the quantity and type of data app
developers requested between 2007 and 2015 (the year it tightened
the reins), a far-reaching endeavor. Facebook will start by
examining apps that had large user bases -- 100,000 people or more
-- and those apps that pulled extensive data about a smaller group
of people, said people familiar with Facebook. The process could
involve analyzing tens of thousands of apps, some said.
In an interview with CNN, Mr. Zuckerberg said Facebook had been
too trusting of developers in the past, that he would be willing to
testify in front of Congress, and that he didn't oppose some forms
of regulation, specifically around advertising transparency.
Write to Deepa Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com and
Katherine Bindleyat Katie.Bindley@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2018 08:14 ET (12:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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