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Ask HN: As senator at Congress FB hearing, what would you ask?

8 points by vinnyglennon 9y ago

natch 9y ago
Most fundamental imho would be to have technically competent staff who can see through weasel words and tease out real answers, not lies couched in half-truths. As is generally the case in hearings of this sort. Also I'd like senators to realize that you don't have to click or go anywhere near a like button, for it to track the fact that you visited a site. And all this tracking data is stored somewhere, forever as far as we know. Also I'd like senators to understand that when a user opts in to share some data, they are often being enabled, by the platform, to share data of other users who never did opt in for that particular sharing. (I admit the users' FB friends did opt in to use Facebook, yes... they just didn't opt in with any knowledge of the specific sharing that their friend just did for them). If they understand these things, they can ask better questions.
pcunite 9y ago
Discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16805470 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16805470
agitator 9y ago
I'd ask Mark to solve a Captcha. All jokes aside though, I feel like the senators should have been briefed by technology experts on the current industry practices and the capabilities and risks of current internet technology. The questions are pointless if they don't understand the responses and cannot come up with follow-up questions. It's generally really easy to side skirt a question with the first answer. Follow-up questions are where you get to into the meat.
gesman 9y ago
It's clear that without legislation, GDPR-like for USA - this all is just a talk.
hacknat 9y ago
I would have asked about GDPR and why they’re only applying policies to fulfill their legal requirements for it to EU citizens. Then some follow up on how they plan on identifying EU citizens from Americans, what if one is living in one place and one in another? Isn’t your fundamental business model always going to be in tension with your user’s privacy? Finally, given the way the site is structured specifically to broadcast at such a broad level with little control over the granularity people have over their ability to communicate, won’t the psychology of the site always favor those most comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions to large groups of people, specifically folks that are either socially awkward or have overt agendas? Doesn’t this lend to a false sense of how one’s peers perceive the world? I could go on and on. Facebook is a steaming pile of shit, and humanity would be better off without it.

8 points by vinnyglennon 9y ago

Most fundamental imho would be to have technically competent staff who can see through weasel words and tease out real answers, not lies couched in half-truths. As is generally the case in hearings of this sort. Also I'd like senators to realize that you don't have to click or go anywhere near a like button, for it to track the fact that you visited a site. And all this tracking data is stored somewhere, forever as far as we know. Also I'd like senators to understand that when a user opts in to share some data, they are often being enabled, by the platform, to share data of other users who never did opt in for that particular sharing. (I admit the users' FB friends did opt in to use Facebook, yes... they just didn't opt in with any knowledge of the specific sharing that their friend just did for them). If they understand these things, they can ask better questions.

pcunite 9y ago

Discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16805470 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16805470

agitator 9y ago

I'd ask Mark to solve a Captcha. All jokes aside though, I feel like the senators should have been briefed by technology experts on the current industry practices and the capabilities and risks of current internet technology. The questions are pointless if they don't understand the responses and cannot come up with follow-up questions. It's generally really easy to side skirt a question with the first answer. Follow-up questions are where you get to into the meat.

gesman 9y ago

It's clear that without legislation, GDPR-like for USA - this all is just a talk.

hacknat 9y ago

I would have asked about GDPR and why they’re only applying policies to fulfill their legal requirements for it to EU citizens. Then some follow up on how they plan on identifying EU citizens from Americans, what if one is living in one place and one in another? Isn’t your fundamental business model always going to be in tension with your user’s privacy? Finally, given the way the site is structured specifically to broadcast at such a broad level with little control over the granularity people have over their ability to communicate, won’t the psychology of the site always favor those most comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions to large groups of people, specifically folks that are either socially awkward or have overt agendas? Doesn’t this lend to a false sense of how one’s peers perceive the world? I could go on and on. Facebook is a steaming pile of shit, and humanity would be better off without it.