7 ms·

"Facebook Inc. faces a massive uphill task to win back the general public's trust, results from two separate opinion polls, reported on by Reuters, have shown.

"Facebook Inc. faces a massive uphill task to win back the general public's trust, results from two separate opinion polls, reported on by Reuters, have shown. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Sunday, just 41 percent of Americans now trust Facebook to obey laws that protect their personal information. In contrast, of the 2,237 respondents to the poll, which ran from Wednesday through Friday, 66 percent, 62 percent and 60 percent, respectively, believe that Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc's Google and Microsoft Corp. will do a better job of respecting their privacy. A separate survey released the same day by Germany's largest-selling Sunday paper, Bild am Sonntag, delivered a much more damaging assessment, revealing that 60 percent of Germans believe that Facebook and other social networks have a negative impact on democracy." Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-cambridge-analytica-apology/americans-less-likely-to-trust-facebook-than-rivals-on-personal-data-idUSKBN1H10AF https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-cambridge-analyt... Zuck: They "trust me" Source: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg

ironjunkie 9y ago
Happy to see that the greater public understands what Facebook really is. But we still have work to do regarding Google. They are even worse IMO. For those two, you are the product. Amazon and Microsoft don't have business selling your data (or at least it is not central), you are not the product.
- Raphmedia 9y ago
  Microsoft: https://advertising.microsoft.com/home https://advertising.microsoft.com/home Amazon: https://advertising.amazon.ca/ https://advertising.amazon.ca/ ... You are the product.
  - ironjunkie 9y ago
    At least it is not central to their business. In other words, the company is not rotten to it's core.
    - einr 9y ago
      They're rapidly heading down the path, at the very least. Microsoft has been giving away their operating system for free in exchange for mining your personal data. Everyone who uses Windows 10 can expect to have everything on screen scraped, all their keystrokes logged, and all their files transferred to Microsoft for analysis. What do you suppose their reason is for taking all this data?
      - AndrewUnmuted 9y ago
        > They're rapidly heading down the path, at the very least. Who is? Amazon? Not likely. Though I haven't worked there for several years now, I would be flabbergasted to discover that Bezos would approve an initiative that involved selling user data to advertisers. I can't speak to Microsoft. I am not a user of Microsoft's products, nor any of its subsidiaries' products, and they are not mining any data from me.
        einr 9y ago
        Who is? Amazon? No, I was talking about Microsoft only. Sorry if that was unclear.
  - AndrewUnmuted 9y ago
    With respect to the Amazon link you provided, did you watch the video? Amazon explicitly states that the ads provided are targeted based upon user action. So if you go to Amazon searching for music, they may show an ad on the side of the page that provides a discount offer for a specific band or artist. As far as I know, Amazon doesn't sell user data to anyone, even for advertising.
    - lokedhs 9y ago
      Just because they don't sell access to the information doesn't mean they're not being evil. That company is likely the worst in terms of user tracking out of all the companies mentioned in these comments. After all, this is a company that tracks not only what books you read, but how far you've read it, how much time you spent reading every page and how many times you went back to previous pages. This is also the company who has microphones placed in people's houses, happily installed by the users themselves. Given the fact that so many people people trust them with so many things, and their desire to be a provider of every single service, they certainly are a much bigger privacy invader than even Google or Facebook.
  - decebalus1 9y ago
    What exactly is that supposed to prove? Not a fan of any of the two companies but I believe you're being unfair. At least Microsoft[0] does not sell your personal information or build it's business around renting access to your personal information. There is a big difference between sharing data with advertisers and sharing data with company-controlled subsidiaries and vendors. Amazon is a little more permissive [1] but again, it does not sell your data. Both of them ask for your consent before sharing the data. So for example, if your friend/contact shares his data, the third party does not see your data (as opposed to what Facebook did). Posts such as yours reek of whataboutism (same as the Obama campaign narrative) and do more harm than good. The two companies have not built their business around personal data. The personal data in this case is a side-effect of selling an actual product/service which brings in the cash. If you mentioned Google, then that's a different thing. I find it interesting nobody is bringing up this book: https://www.amazon.com/When-Google-Wikileaks-Julian-Assange/dp/8189059661 https://www.amazon.com/When-Google-Wikileaks-Julian-Assange/... [0] https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=468496#GUID-1B2BDAD4-7ACF-4D7A-8608-CBA6EA897FD3__SECTION_3DF674DAB5B7439FB2A9B4465BC3E0AC https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...
    - einr 9y ago
      At least Microsoft[0] does not sell your personal information or build it's business around renting access to your personal information. There is a big difference between sharing data with advertisers and sharing data with company-controlled subsidiaries and vendors. "We tell you about things we think you’ll like. For example, we may send you email to remind you about items left in your online shopping cart. We also display advertising in some services, and we’d prefer to show you ads you find interesting." https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-US/windows10privacy https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-US/windows10privacy Microsoft mines your behavioural patterns and activities on Windows, Bing etc and sells this information to advertisers.
- panarky 9y ago
  Bullshit. Google doesn't have a social graph of 2.2 billion people, with all their posts and likes. And if you don't trust Google, then Bing and DuckDuckGo are a click away. If you don't trust Facebook, there are no real alternatives. Yes, there are issues with Google. But they're not in the same universe as Facebook. To suggest otherwise is false equivalence.
  - brandon272 9y ago
    Maybe I'm crazy, but I figure that Google has way more personal and in-depth information on me. Maybe I like a few political posts and share some recipes on Facebook. But people search their deepest, darkest questions on Google while logged in to their Google account. Every email I have sent and received is on Google. Google tracks my location 24 hours a day. Google stores my work documents. Google knows every video I've watched on YouTube. Google has every photo that my phone takes.
    - davidwihl 9y ago
      But they do a better job of keeping that information private, whereas Facebook provided the actual data to their partners and advertisers.
      - ksk 9y ago
        Not for long ! https://marketingland.com/google-publishers-user-data-insights-engine-project-225452 https://marketingland.com/google-publishers-user-data-insigh... >Among the announcements was the launch of a new effort to share user data with publishers and introduce more machine learning into Google’s publisher products. https://doubleclick-publishers.googleblog.com/2017/10/building-for-beyond-with-insights.html https://doubleclick-publishers.googleblog.com/2017/10/buildi...
        davidwihl 9y ago
        It specifically says "aggregated and anonymized" data, not personal data. Even then, I imagine with the Facebook backlash, this will be heavily scrutinized.
- reaperducer 9y ago
  > But we still have work to do regarding Google Slay one beast at a time, otherwise your thin your army and are defeated.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- snomad 9y ago
  Have a gander at Windows 10 privacy settings, most/all of them on by default for every new install.
alecco 9y ago
Yes but now Facebook and similar social sites are a digital slot machine so users are addicted. They probably don't care about their image as much as when they were growing. Sadly, I think the only way to replace a digital drug is going to be with a less evil digital drug. It's quite hard to break those habits.
- DisruptiveDave 9y ago
  Not the only way, but the easiest, laziest way. Which is the same approach that got us all into this fix in the first place. As the world turns...
liberte82 9y ago
It's all well and good that people now realize the privacy issues with social media, but the question is do we do something about it or do we just get used to it? Social media is here to stay, people are hooked.
woodpanel 9y ago
Not to sound condescending but as a German I can tell you that american social networks never enjoyed much trust by us anyways regarding handling of our data. Part of that resentment might be caused by anti-american-bias, anti-capitalist-bias, German romanticism and many more but most importantly remembrance of the GDR's Stasi. Those 60% you mention sound absolutely reasonable even without the cambridge analytica scandal. I know several people who never registered with facebook or whatsapp and are reluctant to do be pushed into it even by close friends and family.
- remir 9y ago
  Anti-capitalism? Anti-americanism? Please. How many people in Germany use American-made software and services? How many use Windows, macOS or Android? Amazon? Netflix? Uber? Snapchat? Instagram? I see many Europeans talking about "anti-americanism" yet a lot of them consume their products and culture en masse.
  - woodpanel 9y ago
    Using it yes, but often without letting the product get away without some snark. But, as my sentence structure tried to clarify: anti-capitalism and -americanism might play a role here and there but only a minor one.

ironjunkie 9y ago

Happy to see that the greater public understands what Facebook really is. But we still have work to do regarding Google. They are even worse IMO. For those two, you are the product. Amazon and Microsoft don't have business selling your data (or at least it is not central), you are not the product.

Raphmedia 9y ago
Microsoft: https://advertising.microsoft.com/home https://advertising.microsoft.com/home Amazon: https://advertising.amazon.ca/ https://advertising.amazon.ca/ ... You are the product.
- ironjunkie 9y ago
  At least it is not central to their business. In other words, the company is not rotten to it's core.
  - einr 9y ago
    They're rapidly heading down the path, at the very least. Microsoft has been giving away their operating system for free in exchange for mining your personal data. Everyone who uses Windows 10 can expect to have everything on screen scraped, all their keystrokes logged, and all their files transferred to Microsoft for analysis. What do you suppose their reason is for taking all this data?
    - AndrewUnmuted 9y ago
      > They're rapidly heading down the path, at the very least. Who is? Amazon? Not likely. Though I haven't worked there for several years now, I would be flabbergasted to discover that Bezos would approve an initiative that involved selling user data to advertisers. I can't speak to Microsoft. I am not a user of Microsoft's products, nor any of its subsidiaries' products, and they are not mining any data from me.
      - einr 9y ago
        Who is? Amazon? No, I was talking about Microsoft only. Sorry if that was unclear.
- AndrewUnmuted 9y ago
  With respect to the Amazon link you provided, did you watch the video? Amazon explicitly states that the ads provided are targeted based upon user action. So if you go to Amazon searching for music, they may show an ad on the side of the page that provides a discount offer for a specific band or artist. As far as I know, Amazon doesn't sell user data to anyone, even for advertising.
  - lokedhs 9y ago
    Just because they don't sell access to the information doesn't mean they're not being evil. That company is likely the worst in terms of user tracking out of all the companies mentioned in these comments. After all, this is a company that tracks not only what books you read, but how far you've read it, how much time you spent reading every page and how many times you went back to previous pages. This is also the company who has microphones placed in people's houses, happily installed by the users themselves. Given the fact that so many people people trust them with so many things, and their desire to be a provider of every single service, they certainly are a much bigger privacy invader than even Google or Facebook.
- decebalus1 9y ago
  What exactly is that supposed to prove? Not a fan of any of the two companies but I believe you're being unfair. At least Microsoft[0] does not sell your personal information or build it's business around renting access to your personal information. There is a big difference between sharing data with advertisers and sharing data with company-controlled subsidiaries and vendors. Amazon is a little more permissive [1] but again, it does not sell your data. Both of them ask for your consent before sharing the data. So for example, if your friend/contact shares his data, the third party does not see your data (as opposed to what Facebook did). Posts such as yours reek of whataboutism (same as the Obama campaign narrative) and do more harm than good. The two companies have not built their business around personal data. The personal data in this case is a side-effect of selling an actual product/service which brings in the cash. If you mentioned Google, then that's a different thing. I find it interesting nobody is bringing up this book: https://www.amazon.com/When-Google-Wikileaks-Julian-Assange/dp/8189059661 https://www.amazon.com/When-Google-Wikileaks-Julian-Assange/... [0] https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=468496#GUID-1B2BDAD4-7ACF-4D7A-8608-CBA6EA897FD3__SECTION_3DF674DAB5B7439FB2A9B4465BC3E0AC https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...
  - einr 9y ago
    At least Microsoft[0] does not sell your personal information or build it's business around renting access to your personal information. There is a big difference between sharing data with advertisers and sharing data with company-controlled subsidiaries and vendors. "We tell you about things we think you’ll like. For example, we may send you email to remind you about items left in your online shopping cart. We also display advertising in some services, and we’d prefer to show you ads you find interesting." https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-US/windows10privacy https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-US/windows10privacy Microsoft mines your behavioural patterns and activities on Windows, Bing etc and sells this information to advertisers.
panarky 9y ago
Bullshit. Google doesn't have a social graph of 2.2 billion people, with all their posts and likes. And if you don't trust Google, then Bing and DuckDuckGo are a click away. If you don't trust Facebook, there are no real alternatives. Yes, there are issues with Google. But they're not in the same universe as Facebook. To suggest otherwise is false equivalence.
- brandon272 9y ago
  Maybe I'm crazy, but I figure that Google has way more personal and in-depth information on me. Maybe I like a few political posts and share some recipes on Facebook. But people search their deepest, darkest questions on Google while logged in to their Google account. Every email I have sent and received is on Google. Google tracks my location 24 hours a day. Google stores my work documents. Google knows every video I've watched on YouTube. Google has every photo that my phone takes.
  - davidwihl 9y ago
    But they do a better job of keeping that information private, whereas Facebook provided the actual data to their partners and advertisers.
    - ksk 9y ago
      Not for long ! https://marketingland.com/google-publishers-user-data-insights-engine-project-225452 https://marketingland.com/google-publishers-user-data-insigh... >Among the announcements was the launch of a new effort to share user data with publishers and introduce more machine learning into Google’s publisher products. https://doubleclick-publishers.googleblog.com/2017/10/building-for-beyond-with-insights.html https://doubleclick-publishers.googleblog.com/2017/10/buildi...
      - davidwihl 9y ago
        It specifically says "aggregated and anonymized" data, not personal data. Even then, I imagine with the Facebook backlash, this will be heavily scrutinized.
reaperducer 9y ago
> But we still have work to do regarding Google Slay one beast at a time, otherwise your thin your army and are defeated.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
snomad 9y ago
Have a gander at Windows 10 privacy settings, most/all of them on by default for every new install.

alecco 9y ago

Yes but now Facebook and similar social sites are a digital slot machine so users are addicted. They probably don't care about their image as much as when they were growing. Sadly, I think the only way to replace a digital drug is going to be with a less evil digital drug. It's quite hard to break those habits.

DisruptiveDave 9y ago
Not the only way, but the easiest, laziest way. Which is the same approach that got us all into this fix in the first place. As the world turns...

liberte82 9y ago

It's all well and good that people now realize the privacy issues with social media, but the question is do we do something about it or do we just get used to it? Social media is here to stay, people are hooked.

woodpanel 9y ago

Not to sound condescending but as a German I can tell you that american social networks never enjoyed much trust by us anyways regarding handling of our data. Part of that resentment might be caused by anti-american-bias, anti-capitalist-bias, German romanticism and many more but most importantly remembrance of the GDR's Stasi. Those 60% you mention sound absolutely reasonable even without the cambridge analytica scandal. I know several people who never registered with facebook or whatsapp and are reluctant to do be pushed into it even by close friends and family.

remir 9y ago
Anti-capitalism? Anti-americanism? Please. How many people in Germany use American-made software and services? How many use Windows, macOS or Android? Amazon? Netflix? Uber? Snapchat? Instagram? I see many Europeans talking about "anti-americanism" yet a lot of them consume their products and culture en masse.
- woodpanel 9y ago
  Using it yes, but often without letting the product get away without some snark. But, as my sentence structure tried to clarify: anti-capitalism and -americanism might play a role here and there but only a minor one.