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Yes, there's harm to Facebook, the other users whose data is scraped, and probably to organizations advertising on Facebook. The masses of users and organizatio

Yes, there's harm to Facebook, the other users whose data is scraped, and probably to organizations advertising on Facebook. The masses of users and organizations are unlikely to be aware this is going on or to be able to organize and sue the extension makers. These extensions are made by shitty companies using shitty practices to make money. If current legal frameworks aren't well suited to deal with it, that doesn't make them any less shitty.

monadic2 6y ago
Sure, but doesn't the TOS harm the user by restricting their access to their own data? Facebook might have a case but you can't possibly paint them as a victim here.
- extra88 6y ago
  The issue not so much the extensions scraping the individual user's own data (or data about them) but scraping data about advertisers and about other users. Facebook is harmed through resource consumption by the scraping, the infringement of any copyrights they hold on what's scraped, and potentially harmed in their relationship with their advertising customers and their users. How bad Facebook's own practices are is irrelevant to the issue of what these extension makers have done. Dirtbags have rights too.
  - hyperdimension 6y ago
    With as little respect I have for Facebook, and how reluctant I'd even be to defend them, your last sentence, "Dirtbags have rights too." is an attitude I think we all should stand to live up to these days.
  - monadic2 6y ago
    I agree with your last statement that dirtbags deserve rights too; however, companies should not have rights on par with civilian rights at all. Hell, I'd like to write up a TOS they implicitly sign by taking on my business. ...while we're on the subject of normativity, anyway! :)
abeyer 6y ago
These extensions are made by shitty companies using shitty practices to make money by "stealing" data from a shitty company with shitty practices to make money. You're just a pawn sitting in the middle while the parties to this fight over who gets to exploit you most effectively. The only positive outcome here would be if the courts hugely overstepped their mandate and told everyone involved that this data shouldn't be available at all, you have to destroy it now.

monadic2 6y ago

Sure, but doesn't the TOS harm the user by restricting their access to their own data? Facebook might have a case but you can't possibly paint them as a victim here.

extra88 6y ago
The issue not so much the extensions scraping the individual user's own data (or data about them) but scraping data about advertisers and about other users. Facebook is harmed through resource consumption by the scraping, the infringement of any copyrights they hold on what's scraped, and potentially harmed in their relationship with their advertising customers and their users. How bad Facebook's own practices are is irrelevant to the issue of what these extension makers have done. Dirtbags have rights too.
- hyperdimension 6y ago
  With as little respect I have for Facebook, and how reluctant I'd even be to defend them, your last sentence, "Dirtbags have rights too." is an attitude I think we all should stand to live up to these days.
- monadic2 6y ago
  I agree with your last statement that dirtbags deserve rights too; however, companies should not have rights on par with civilian rights at all. Hell, I'd like to write up a TOS they implicitly sign by taking on my business. ...while we're on the subject of normativity, anyway! :)

abeyer 6y ago

These extensions are made by shitty companies using shitty practices to make money by "stealing" data from a shitty company with shitty practices to make money. You're just a pawn sitting in the middle while the parties to this fight over who gets to exploit you most effectively. The only positive outcome here would be if the courts hugely overstepped their mandate and told everyone involved that this data shouldn't be available at all, you have to destroy it now.