The outcry surrounding the Cambridge Analytica data scandal is putting Facebook’s business model on trial, with critics calling into question its targeted advertising practices and effect on user privacy.
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Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Friday endorsed USA legislation to regulate political ads across the internet, a concession to lawmakers days before he is scheduled to testify in two US congressional hearings.
Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said the company should have conducted an audit after learning that a political consultancy improperly accessed user data almost three years ago. “I think we understand that we need to take a broader view of our responsibility”, he said. Facebook did not inform its users publicly or privately.
It is just four days before Zuckerberg’s scheduled first testimony in front of Congress.
Facebook is also creating a searchable archive of past political ads.
In an interview with BuzzFeed News yesterday, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg made clear what Facebook needs to do to regain user trust: “It’s not about what we say, it’s what we do”.
For example, Facebook said in a post that it was ending a feature that had permitted someone to enter another person’s phone number or email address into a Facebook search to find a friend or colleague.
“What!? how’d you manage that one?” they asked.
Facebook was aware more than two years ago of Cambridge Analytica’s harvesting of the personal profiles of up to 87 million users and can not rule out other cases of abuse of user data, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said.
The more disturbing fact is that in some cases Facebook itself will decide whether to approve third parties’ ability to harness this social network data.
The company also declined to say how long Zuckerberg has had the feature and what other executives had access to it. “We did not follow up and confirm, and that’s on us? and particularly once they were active in the election, we should have done that”.
Sandberg told America’s Today show that the company is now undertaking that audit.
But that’s unlikely to appease Facebook’s loudest critics or skeptical regulators. The company also points out that users of the encrypted version of their messenger service can already enjoy the function to some extent.
Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg will discuss the crisis with the European Union justice commissioner. The company is also facing an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Facebook admitted past year that fake Russian Facebook accounts had purchased more than $100,000 in ads, which USA intelligence agencies say were meant to influence the election in favor of Donald Trump.
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“Our joint hearing will be a public conversation with the CEO of this powerful and influential company about his vision for addressing problems that have generated significant concern about Facebook’s role in our democracy, bad actors using the platform, and user privacy”, Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R, South Dakota) said in a statement.
