Let's Talk About Facebook

Before you immediately close your browser, know that this post isn't some screed against Facebook or a call to arms in the forthcoming Privacy Revolution! I'm not eloquent enough for any of that. However, I do want to post some articles that I found interesting as of late in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. So, here they are:

• ReCode transcript with Zuckerberg - a quality interview with Mark Zuckerberg in which the journalists ask some decently hard questions. The answers are disappointing at best and bafflingly ignorant at worst.
• What the F*** was Facebook thinking? - a good read on the historical context of the data share and what else was going on at the time; lest you forget other data breaches like the huge one at Target. Moreso, it gives some insight on how far reaching and pervasive the data scraping could be from any company at that time.
• Facebook scraped call, text messages for years from Android phones - Facebook denies this one but I'm not really prone to fully believe them, given that in several other interviews they've openly stated that they don't know where all their data went. This collection was clearly happening and shows the depth of information that was gathered.
• The Cambridge Analytica Data Apocalypse was Predicted in 2007 - going back eleven years, MIT Media Lab predicted that such a massive data share was imminent unless measures were taken to prevent it. Clearly, an MIT Media Lab study didn't make it to the masses.

As I stated at the top, I'm not going to try and synthesize all that into some grand theory against Facebook. I'm actually shocked that the #DeleteFacebook movement has come up again - as none of this seems the least bit surprising to me. Social media networks make their money off your data. Furthermore, Facebook and Instagram and Google and everywhere else are pieces of code written by humans that are driven by profits and growth (see: "Move Fast and Break Things").

This fallout is a nice eye-opener for a large audience but I can't imagine this will really change anything. As we move into a more AR / VR driven world, even more granular data will be collected and sold. Imagine what happens when your eye movements can be tracked and what sort of re-targeting ads can be served to you simply based on lingering for awhile on a product.

This isn't all doom and gloom but, frankly, just a reality that we need to get more accustomed to. If you are a part of a social network, you are volunteering that information and taking that risk. Do I think there should be some regulation and safe keeping? Of course but I do think we're seeing the definition of "privacy" change extremely quickly and I'm fascinated to see where it will land.