5 ms·
Why?
by stri8ed 7y ago
Why?
- amelius 7y agoPrivacy. Also: https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/24/researchers-spotlight-the-lie-of-anonymous-data/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/24/researchers-spotlight-the-...
- Alex3917 7y agoThe dataset is presumably going only to academic researchers under NDA. It's not likely that any of them are going to leak the dataset.
- ori_b 7y agoWhy should I trust people working at universities with my private data?
- Alex3917 7y agoBecause it's necessary for academics to have real datasets in order to do quantitative research on social systems.
- ori_b 7y agoThat's not sufficient reason to trust them.
- bathtub365 7y agoI don’t think it’s necessary. In fact, I’d prefer if these researchers didn’t even exist.
- 0_gravitas 7y agoCan you make a good case for legitimate researchers of any kind not to exist? Just because its a potentially dangerous/dismal subject matter doesn't mean it should be discarded as forbidden knowledge; if the truth destroys us then perhaps we deserve to be destroyed, better that than to live in ignorance.
- ori_b 7y agoLet them exist; However, their existence shouldn't be a free license to data.
- nine_k 7y agoA better question: why would you trust a company like Facebook with your private data? To my mind, if you post something to a social network, and twice as much to Facebook, you should only post stuff which you won't mind posted openly on every wall in your town.
- rvnx 7y agoBecause if done properly, employees interests are aligned with the interests of the employer. If you own significant stock options in Facebook, it's not very wise to to cut the branch you are sitting on. Additionally, external researchers have much higher risk, because they may seek fame, or need money (employee are generally in a safe position, the intern at a research group is not). An exclusive data leak can bring both advantages. Also, they may not have the same security practices as internal ones (deep packet inspection, etc).
- ori_b 7y agoYou shouldn't. But let's not make the problem worse?
- sneak 7y agoFacebook collects tons of private data across the whole of the web that we don’t generally consent to giving them. They are an advertising company, after all.
- craftyguy 7y agolol. the risk of it becoming public has increased now that it's accessible by more people. NDAs are a deterrent, but it doesn't deter everyone.
- Avamander 7y agoNDA is only a legal protection, not a technical one.
- rhizome 7y agoIt's not even a protection, I'd call it a "liability indicator," or even a detector.
- bathtub365 7y agoYou undercut your own argument by using the phrase “not likely”. You acknowledge that the probability of the data being leaked has increased as a result of more people having access.
- 3xblah 7y agoThere could be several reasons why it is "not likely" that a researcher would leak. But is the existence of an NDA really one of them? Putting aside the likelihood of an intentional leak, how would enforcement of an NDA work in the event of an "accidental" leak. Has anyone ever seen Facebook file lawsuits against academic researchers or their employers. When leaks have happened, has anyone seen Facebook file lawsuits to enforce an NDA in order to protect or provide compensation to Facebook users. Of course we have all seen Facebook file endless lawsuits to protect Facebook. What sort of "relief" are users going to get under an NDA between Facebook and an academic researcher if their data is leaked.
- Alex3917 7y ago> What sort of "relief" are users going to get under an NDA between Facebook and an academic researcher if their data is leaked. Keep in mind that this dataset being released to academics is literally the relief that Facebook is being forced to provide for the negative externality their users are imposing on non-users.
- catalogia 7y agoEven NDAs can't put cats back in bags.