5 ms·

Google keeps a tight hold on the data, whereas Facebook had APIs that allowed FB-apps to crawl segments of the FB graph. By doing that thousands of times, apps

Google keeps a tight hold on the data, whereas Facebook had APIs that allowed FB-apps to crawl segments of the FB graph. By doing that thousands of times, apps could export a large part of the data, and FB lost control over how the data could be used. By contrast, Google retains control. I understand your point that we as end-users don't have any control over the way the data is used in either case. But I do think there is a material difference between the two scenarios.

ocdtrekkie 9y ago
I just don't see why "Google retaining control" is a positive, when Google is as hostile an actor as Cambridge Analytica. If companies are going to use data to sway public opinion and tailor advertising, how much does it really matter which company is doing it?
- skybrian 9y ago
  This is sort of like saying all political parties are the same. We can and should make distinctions.
  - ocdtrekkie 9y ago
    What makes Cambridge Analytica worse than Google, specifically? Is the distinction you can draw between the two objective, or subjective to your personal view (or political party)? (From what I've found, most people upset with "all political parties are the same" are people who belong to one, and are upset that they get grouped in with people who do the exact same things they do. Not "all political parties" are the same, but the two of them I deal with as a US citizen definitely are.)
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      > What makes Cambridge Analytica worse than Google, specifically? The outright lying about purpose thing, by which CA’s key data was gathered, for starters.
      - ocdtrekkie 9y ago
        I would argue both Google and many other data collection based companies do this as well. Data is collected under the auspices of being able to "provide you with better services", even though the actual purpose is to target ads to you more accurately. (They may have better legal disclaimers and statements of how data will be used stuffed in their EULAs nobody reads, but I don't feel that's much less deceptive in reality.)
- thinkling 9y ago
  Retaining control is a positive because it allows you to change your mind and change what's being done with the data--or for that matter for legislation to limit wat you may do with the data. Once the data is out of your control, there is no longer any way to control what is done with it. Don't think that Cambridge Analytics are the only ones who did this and who have this data. Shutting down CA won't stop the exported FB data from being put to all sorts of uses.
  - ocdtrekkie 9y ago
    Isn't part of the complaint that Cambridge Analytica was instructed to delete the data by Facebook, and claimed they did, but in fact, that they did not? What is to say Facebook itself or Google can't operate in the same way?

ocdtrekkie 9y ago

I just don't see why "Google retaining control" is a positive, when Google is as hostile an actor as Cambridge Analytica. If companies are going to use data to sway public opinion and tailor advertising, how much does it really matter which company is doing it?

skybrian 9y ago
This is sort of like saying all political parties are the same. We can and should make distinctions.
- ocdtrekkie 9y ago
  What makes Cambridge Analytica worse than Google, specifically? Is the distinction you can draw between the two objective, or subjective to your personal view (or political party)? (From what I've found, most people upset with "all political parties are the same" are people who belong to one, and are upset that they get grouped in with people who do the exact same things they do. Not "all political parties" are the same, but the two of them I deal with as a US citizen definitely are.)
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    > What makes Cambridge Analytica worse than Google, specifically? The outright lying about purpose thing, by which CA’s key data was gathered, for starters.
    - ocdtrekkie 9y ago
      I would argue both Google and many other data collection based companies do this as well. Data is collected under the auspices of being able to "provide you with better services", even though the actual purpose is to target ads to you more accurately. (They may have better legal disclaimers and statements of how data will be used stuffed in their EULAs nobody reads, but I don't feel that's much less deceptive in reality.)
thinkling 9y ago
Retaining control is a positive because it allows you to change your mind and change what's being done with the data--or for that matter for legislation to limit wat you may do with the data. Once the data is out of your control, there is no longer any way to control what is done with it. Don't think that Cambridge Analytics are the only ones who did this and who have this data. Shutting down CA won't stop the exported FB data from being put to all sorts of uses.
- ocdtrekkie 9y ago
  Isn't part of the complaint that Cambridge Analytica was instructed to delete the data by Facebook, and claimed they did, but in fact, that they did not? What is to say Facebook itself or Google can't operate in the same way?