Facebook’s links to questions of privacy and data protection have come to the fore since the Cambridge Analytica scandal was revealed in 2018. In March of this year, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a statement about future plans for the platform’s approach to privacy.
We wrote about how the statement was inherently ironic, as well as identifying a public need for better privacy that has been building traction for years. A deep dive into the platform’s history lays out a trail of privacy issues since its inception, and provides crucial context for Facebook’s changing stance.
13 March 2019
Criminal probe into Facebook data deals
Two tech companies that make smartphones (unnamed in reports) have recieved a subpoena from the New York grand jury regarding data deals made with Facebook.
These deals involved integrating the developing products with Facebook platforms and features, in exchange for user data to inform the building of the product.
Users reportedly did not always know the extent of information shared.
4 March 2019
Backlash over misuse of security phone numbers
Facebook users have been asked to add their phone number as two-factor authentification since 2011.
Backlash from editor of Emojipedia Jeremy Burge claims that the information can be used to search users, too, with an unclear opt-out system.
Facebook responded in a statement claiming that this search feature was disabled in April 2018.
2 March 2019
Facebook’s lobbying against data privacy laws revealed
Leaked internal documents reveal Facebook’s global effort of incentivising politicians to lobby against data privacy laws.
This includes pressure to lobby against the “restrictive” GDPR, and the threat of withholding investment from countries who refused to support and pass Facebook-friendly laws.
The documents’ association with the Six4Three lawsuit (see below) and their dispersal in breach of court order has prevented Facebook from commenting.
22 Feb 2019
Intimate personal information shared to Facebook by third-party apps
A report by the Wall Street Journal revealed that highly personal information such as heart rate, menstrual cycle, and weight, is being shared to Facebook from third-party apps.
The data is shared even if the user is not signed up to Facebook.
Apps involved such as Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker share the data in order to use a Facebook analytics tool that informs how they develop their product and personalise ads.
28 Jan 2019
Irish Data Protection Comission raises concern over Facebook’s merger with WhatsApp and Instagram
Body that regulates Facebook in the EU called an urgent meeting with Facebook Ireland to discuss plans for its merger with Instagram and WhatsApp
The DPC has stated its desire to closely follow developments in the project, particularly concerning how data is shared and used across the platforms.
It emphasised that the merger could not become effective in the EU if it did not meet requirements of the GDPR.
30 April 2018
WhatsApp founder steps down four years after service is bought by Facebook
Jan Koum sold the messaging giant to Facebook in 2014, emphasising at the time that user privacy was “coded into [their] DNA,” and that “if partnering with Facebook meant that we had to change our values, we wouldn’t have done it.”
Koum has now stepped down from the position with no explanation for his exit beyond that it is time for him “to move on”.
His parting Facebook status was met with encouraging comments from Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, though an anonymous company executive claimed that Koum had stepped down after becoming concerned with Facebook’s position on privacy.
17 March 2018
Cambridge Analytica Files published by The Guardian
Facebook’s biggest ever data breach at the time, in which the data from 50 million user profiles was co-opted by political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.
A whistleblower revealed that the information had been used to profile audiences for Trump’s election campaign material as well as the efforts of Vote Leave.
The $1m dollar profile-harvesting operation brought the importance of data protection to the fore and illustrated the power of data as a commodity.
25 May 2017
Facebook Files published by The Guardian
A deep dive into the workings of Facebook’s moderation process, after criticism that the site hosts harmful, hateful and damaging content.
Reports include testimonies from Facebook moderators themselves, an investigation into the details of moderation guidelines, and a look into the extremes of some of the content that has been allowed to exist on the site.
The reports as a whole reinforced a need for transparency from Facebook in all areas, given the scope and influence of content shared on its platform.
