Re:Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data
by Nextgrid on Tuesday February 09, 2021 @11:21AM
(#26079304)
> if it was not made clear to the users what they were sharing
The Facebook OAuth consent prompt is pretty clear.
> what their data would be used for
This is an issue with Cambridge Analytica, not Facebook. Similarly, if a seller on eBay asks you to wire them money and then scams you, why should the bank be liable?
Furthermore, Cambridge Analytica's actions apparently broke the Facebook API terms of use. There's nothing Facebook could've done here unless they can predict the future and retroactively deny access to companies that they know will break the rules in the future.
This may be true technically, but if it was not made clear to the users what they were sharing and what their data would be used for then the users cannot legitimately agree.
Facebook, as platform owners, can force organisation to be clear about what will be disclosed and what for.
This is one of the goals of European GDPR and personally I don't think it needs to hinder legitimate usage. It just forces you to consider why you're collecting data, have a legitimate reason and disclose it to the user. Without that, companies have been hoovering up any user data they can get their hands on. User data should be a liability, rather than an asset.