Re:Facebook sued for ‘losing control’ of users’ data
by 1vuio0pswjnm7 on Tuesday February 09, 2021 @07:36PM
(#26084467)
"Facebook is a neutral carrier here, and they acted on behalf of the user..."
I think that argument is fatally flawed.
The issue with all these user data cases is that the license between the user and Facebook does not restrict how Facebook can use the data. Not simply the data the user submits[1] but the data that Facebook involuntarily collects from the user.
1. This always seems to be how outside observers define "the user's data". They believe it is the data (e.g., photos, etc.) that the user has submitted to Facebook. Facebook may be an optimal place to store photos, etc. Regardless of whether that is true, that is not what is at issue. The issue is what use Facebook is permitted. Can it use the data a user submits any way that it chooses. Yes, it can. Can Facebook collect data on the user, based on their usage, and other sources. Yes, they can. The user has no control over how Facebook uses that data. This is the "loss of control".
It is not always concerned with "transfers" of data, necessarily. It is concerned with how Facebook may use the data it receives from users (knowingly/voluntarily or unknowingly/involuntarily) to support its business. Users pay nothing to Facebook so obviously the data, Facebook's primary asset, is going to be used in ways that generate revenue for Facebook. Users have no say in the decisions over how the data will be used, yet it is "their data" (or data about them). Can it be used in academic research. Yes, it can. Market research. Yes. Users have no control over these uses. It is not simply a matter of changing some setting, which Facebook is constantly fiddling with. It is a matter of the the license the user has with Facebook. The user has no enforceable rights throught that license to control how the data is used.
I think that argument is fatally flawed.
The issue with all these user data cases is that the license between the user and Facebook does not restrict how Facebook can use the data. Not simply the data the user submits[1] but the data that Facebook involuntarily collects from the user.
1. This always seems to be how outside observers define "the user's data". They believe it is the data (e.g., photos, etc.) that the user has submitted to Facebook. Facebook may be an optimal place to store photos, etc. Regardless of whether that is true, that is not what is at issue. The issue is what use Facebook is permitted. Can it use the data a user submits any way that it chooses. Yes, it can. Can Facebook collect data on the user, based on their usage, and other sources. Yes, they can. The user has no control over how Facebook uses that data. This is the "loss of control".
It is not always concerned with "transfers" of data, necessarily. It is concerned with how Facebook may use the data it receives from users (knowingly/voluntarily or unknowingly/involuntarily) to support its business. Users pay nothing to Facebook so obviously the data, Facebook's primary asset, is going to be used in ways that generate revenue for Facebook. Users have no say in the decisions over how the data will be used, yet it is "their data" (or data about them). Can it be used in academic research. Yes, it can. Market research. Yes. Users have no control over these uses. It is not simply a matter of changing some setting, which Facebook is constantly fiddling with. It is a matter of the the license the user has with Facebook. The user has no enforceable rights throught that license to control how the data is used.