Industry Players Take Protest Stances on Data Sharing After Facebook Fallout
Industry players urged actions rather than words Friday in response to Facebook-Cambridge Analytica reports and big data’s relationship to privacy (see 1803200047 and 1803210056). They ranged from Mozilla, which produces the Firefox browser, to Sonos and others, while a tech group expressed concern. On Capitol Hill, scrutiny intensified each day last week.
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Sonos is pulling ads from Facebook, Instagram, Google and Twitter for a week beginning Monday because of concerns on safeguarding customers’ privacy, it blogged Friday. “We are concerned by the recent revelations about Facebook and the exploitation of its platform.” Sonos will “go dark” on its Facebook and Instagram social accounts beginning Monday “in solidarity with those seeking to build a healthier, more consumer-friendly tech ecosystem,” it said. People have the right to know how their data is being collected and used, said Sonos, and the tech industry “has an obligation to honor the commitments we make."
Large digital platforms offer useful opportunities to personalize and contextualize advertising, but that power comes with responsibility, Sonos said. On why its actions are for only a week, Sonos said despite flaws of big tech networks, “we fundamentally believe in the power of technology to bring us together and to create deeper, shared experiences.” Sonos is donating to and participating in RightsCon, a digital rights conference being held in Toronto in May, put on by digital privacy and rights advocacy organization Access Now. RightsCon sponsors include Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Reddit and Twitter.
House and Senate Commerce Committee leadership submitted formal requests Friday for Zuckerberg to testify before their respective committees (see 1803220052). House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., told Zuckerberg that as CEO and the leader “through all the key strategic decisions since its launch, you are the right person to testify before Congress about those decisions and the Facebook business model.” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., wrote that Zuckerberg’s testimony is necessary to “gain a better understanding of how the company plans to restore lost trust, safeguard users' data, and end a troubling series of belated responses to serious problems.”
The Internet Society said Friday it's “disappointed, but not surprised” at the news of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica allegations, calling them the “the natural outcome of today's data driven economy that puts businesses and others first, not users.”
Facebook responded Friday: “Advertisers look to us to help grow their businesses. They know how important it is for people to trust their information with Facebook, and we are committed to regaining that trust. Most of the businesses we've spoken with this week are pleased with the steps we've outlined to better protect people’s data, and they have confidence that we'll respond to these challenges and become a better partner and company as a result.”
Zuckerberg's apology “is a first step, but it's not enough,” said the Internet Society, seeking higher standards for transparency and ethics in data handling: “Anyone who collects data must be accountable to their users and to society.” In the connected world, “everyone is affected by everybody else's actions,” and incidents like the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica allegations contribute to “an overall climate of declining trust” in the internet and “threaten its economic value,” said the group.
The Internet Society’s suggestions for companies that collect, use or share data are to (1) ensure policies about data handling reflect users’ interests first; (2) restrict and monitor any access or use of personal data and don’t collect data “if you can’t manage it”; (3) be transparent in how personal data is shared -- with whom and why; (4) set clear rules for handling and sharing personal data and disclose how the rules are being enforced; (5) ask users to opt in rather than requiring them to opt out of data-sharing policies.
Mozilla blogged it’s “pressing pause” on its Facebook ads, and is taking "a closer look at Facebook’s current default privacy settings given that we support the platform with our advertising dollars.” Current default settings leave access open to a lot of data, particularly for third-party apps, Mozilla said Wednesday. The company will “consider returning” when Facebook “takes stronger action in how it shares customer data” and strengthens its default privacy settings for third-party apps, it said.