Facebook has way too much of your data. And companies are buying and selling that information to target you.
Over the past few days, a whistleblower has revealed how the now-infamous Cambridge Analytica used data from Facebook users without their permission, inciting calls for people to #DeleteFacebook.
Pink-haired and wearing a septum ring, Christopher Wylie is the whistleblower who has uncovered the biggest scandal in Facebook's history.
According to a series of articles released by him, a data company, Cambridge Analytica manipulated data belonging to millions of users.
The data was collected via a Facebook personality quiz, "thisisyourdigitallife", provided by Global Science Research which was answered by tens of thousands of people.
They were not the only victims. Answering the quiz required the user to grant certain permissions, which effectively gave the company access to the data from their Facebook friends.
Cambridge Analytica acquired this data from Global Science Research, and in turn, used it to develop models that it used to manipulate the United States' elections in 2016.
Let Christopher Wylie tell it, "We exploited Facebook to harvest millions of people’s profiles. And built models to exploit what we knew about them and target their inner demons. That was the basis the entire company was built on"
There are different implications to this. But it means one thing: Facebook has access to your data and companies and governments are using it to influence you.
An expose by Guardian UK uncovered how a senior director of Cambridge Analytica was approached by an unnamed Nigerian billionaire to influence the 2015 elections in favour of the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan.
The company settled on creating a video depicting President Buhari as a leader who would enforce sharia law throughout the country.
The project was called off after the company's presence in Nigeria was compromised and its operatives had to leave the country.
Whether privacy is such a big deal for you is a personal decision. Many people have already chosen what side they're on; here are some reasons why they believe it's a good idea to delete Facebook.
1. Facebook knows too much about you:
When Facebook first appeared on our radars, most of us were ecstatic because of the opportunities it created to help us meet new friends and explore our relationships with existing ones.
That optimism and the friendly promise of social networking made us open up ourselves literally. We were (and still are) eager to provide information, answer quizzes and later, link our facebook account to just about every app we use.
ALSO READ: 7 things you should know about Cambridge Analytica's role in the 2015 elections
The effect is that Facebook has way too much information about its user. In today's world, it's a very scary prospect.
2. The data is being used to manipulate you:
You know that thing that happens when you read about music for a while and log in to your Facebook, to be bombarded with ads promoting earphones, new albums and music players.
That's targeted advertising and it's one of the biggest elements of the world we live in today.Brands and companies pay tech giants like Facebook and Google to help them target adverts at people who have shown an interest in similar products.
ALSO READ: Israeli hackers gave Cambridge Analytica the stolen private emails of two world leaders
These companies use the data in their grasp to achieve this. The question though is, what happens when this data is used for ulterior motives, like convincing people to vote for a particular candidate by targeting their fear of religious crisis.
The risk that data can be used to manipulate users is one of the most real concerns of this century. These Cambridge Analytica revelations show it has been happening for years.
3. Facebook is ...old:
It seems like such a long time ago when Facebook was ground zero for just about everything. Nothing really pops on Mark Zuckerberg's social platform anymore.
I haven't made any new friends there in ages. The friend requests are occasional and when they do come, it is from a random teenager in Kwara State who I share another little-known mutual friend with.
When news breaks or conversation are ignited nowadays, it usually happens on Twitter.
ALSO READ: Facebook can still track you, even if you delete your account; here's how to stop it
You may have to wait two or three days before Facebook picks up the ashes. As the first generation to use social networks on this scale, we never really had an idea how long any of them would last.
If a social network had a self-destruct button, Facebook has been cuddling its own for a while now.
from pulse.ng - Gist http://ift.tt/2GilEg7
What do you think? Leave Your Comments Here ;)