Re:Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data
by lm28469 on Tuesday February 09, 2021 @12:36PM
(#26080299)
> If we agree with your reasoning it would mean that simply getting a new phone would involve me calling/texting everyone in my contacts list to ask for their consent for me to enter their numbers on my new phone since I'm potentially sharing their details with a third-party.
But again, you're missing the forest for the tree. You discuss the symptoms while I discuss the root cause. A phone shouldn't let third party randomly siphon arbitrary data about you and your friends without making public the full scope of their project. A consent isn't consent if you're being tricked into giving it for nefarious use
> Facebook has a systemic issue with the way they harvest, handle, share and monetise their users data, this case is just a drop in the ocean of sketchy things they've done
How did Facebook benefit from this? Facebook got duped just like everyone else. CA did not disclose their intentions when they got access to the Facebook API because they wouldn't have got that access otherwise as their actions were against the FB API terms of use.
There's a bit of a witch hunt going on about Facebook, and while I despise that company and want to see it gone too, this is just an outraged mob clutching at straws. They can't go after Cambridge Analytica nor the people behind it (and I guess can't be bothered to vote/lobby for a legislative change so that those people can be prosecuted) so they're venting their anger on the next best thing: Facebook, even though they're a neutral party in this case.