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I went out with a girl who works at Facebook (she does software development) and asked her this very question. Basically her response was that the whole incide

I went out with a girl who works at Facebook (she does software development) and asked her this very question. Basically her response was that the whole incident really isn’t even Facebook’s fault but rather the third party developers. Even though Facebook could have done a better job of protecting data, it’s a waste of time to do so as these companies will always find a way to violate the TOS. It’s a bit like fighting software piracy or ad-blocking, hackers are always getting a step ahead. No company is perfect, despite everything Facebook still does a lot of good in the world, and as a company it’s going to keep doing more of it. There’s a lot of people who hate Facebook for personal or business reasons, but in the end there’s no fundamental reason why Facebook is a bad company that shouldn’t exist, it’s only going to get better anyway.

lordfoom 9y ago
Sounds like a lot of ego protection going on. "We're the real victims!"
- matte_black 9y ago
  And the critics all sound like short sellers.
colinb 9y ago
to paraphrase the immortal words [1] of Mandy Rice-Davies, well she would say that wouldn't she. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Rice-Davies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Rice-Davies
danpalmer 9y ago
I roughly agree with this in terms of the recent events, but Facebook has been doing creepy stuff that I think many people disagree with for a long time, and that seems to be getting worse. Advertisers being able to target so effectively, by salary, by socio-economic status, and by hundreds or even thousands of metrics. I think that's still bad, and I don't think I could work on a product like that.
- matte_black 9y ago
  I’m still amazed that people think really efficient advertising is creepy.
  - teaneedz 9y ago
    "really efficient"="ubiquitous tracking" not too hard to understand the creep factor for most people.
  - danpalmer 9y ago
    Really? Why do you think it's not creepy?
    - 18pfsmt 9y ago
      Because their finances depend on efficient targeting? I'd prefer to get the mainstream to back things like Masotodon (openSocial), Matrix, and Scuttelbut, than call for regulations, but we have to be educating folks about the benefits such federated/distributed networks.
      - danpalmer 9y ago
        It can still be creepy, even if it's what's required for them to operate. If they can't operate without being creepy, perhaps they don't have a viable business model.
teaneedz 9y ago
I can't understand that line of thought. Devs and management really like to look like they are not complicit in something that has gone terribly wrong. Yes, 3rd party devs are responsible and yes Facebook is too. Facebook's business model and algos feed the ad tech machine. Saying that FB is just a scapegoat is some kind of twisted tomfoolery.

lordfoom 9y ago

Sounds like a lot of ego protection going on. "We're the real victims!"

matte_black 9y ago
And the critics all sound like short sellers.

colinb 9y ago

to paraphrase the immortal words [1] of Mandy Rice-Davies, well she would say that wouldn't she. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Rice-Davies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Rice-Davies

danpalmer 9y ago

I roughly agree with this in terms of the recent events, but Facebook has been doing creepy stuff that I think many people disagree with for a long time, and that seems to be getting worse. Advertisers being able to target so effectively, by salary, by socio-economic status, and by hundreds or even thousands of metrics. I think that's still bad, and I don't think I could work on a product like that.

matte_black 9y ago
I’m still amazed that people think really efficient advertising is creepy.
- teaneedz 9y ago
  "really efficient"="ubiquitous tracking" not too hard to understand the creep factor for most people.
- danpalmer 9y ago
  Really? Why do you think it's not creepy?
  - 18pfsmt 9y ago
    Because their finances depend on efficient targeting? I'd prefer to get the mainstream to back things like Masotodon (openSocial), Matrix, and Scuttelbut, than call for regulations, but we have to be educating folks about the benefits such federated/distributed networks.
    - danpalmer 9y ago
      It can still be creepy, even if it's what's required for them to operate. If they can't operate without being creepy, perhaps they don't have a viable business model.

teaneedz 9y ago

I can't understand that line of thought. Devs and management really like to look like they are not complicit in something that has gone terribly wrong. Yes, 3rd party devs are responsible and yes Facebook is too. Facebook's business model and algos feed the ad tech machine. Saying that FB is just a scapegoat is some kind of twisted tomfoolery.