Washington Times: Trump campaign’s use of Facebook data routine, first employed by Obama
The near-hysterical reaction to the Trump campaign’s reported use of personal Facebook data in 2016 ignores a fact of life about social media: businesses, platforms and political campaigns have been collecting users’ personal preferences for years through a variety of online tools to reach their target audiences.
This alleged data “breach” from Facebook accounts is not identity theft, in which hackers try to steal your credit card information, Social Security number or bank account. The accusation leveled against the voter-profiling research firm Cambridge Analytica involves the exploitation of Facebook users’ personal choices and “likes” — expressed online voluntarily for their friends to see — that let researchers and analysts make educated guesses about a person’s political leanings and susceptibility to advertising.
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WNU Editor: A personal confession. I have always been interested in using social media as a marketing/networking tool .... and I have worked with people who do just this. That is why much of what I am reading now is not a surprise to me. As for how it can be used by political parties and or special interest groups .... again .... no surprises there. This has been known for a very long time .... case in point .... President Obama's campaign team was praised in 2012/2013 for using social media in their election campaign, and the people behind it boasted about it .... Ex-Obama Campaign Director: It's 'Unfair' Facebook Let Us 'Ingest Entire Social Network of US' (IJR). As for Facebook .... make no mistake about it .... they are not innocent. They know what they have, and they know how to use it. This is why they are a multi-billion dollar company, and this is how they monetize their platform. The personal data that you give to them is theirs .... not yours. And they have used (and are using) that data to enrich themselves. So why is the mainstream media acting in the matter that they are now? Why all the political demands for hearings and investigations? And more importantly .... why are many members of the public upset? As I said .... this is nothing new .... but what is new is that it appears that some smart people in the Trump campaign found out a way to do the same thing that their opponents have been doing for years .... but being more sophisticated about it. And while the denials are coming in that this is not the same .... No, Obama Didn’t Employ the Same Strategies as Cambridge Analytica (Washington Monthly) .... the means to have access to a Facebook user's friend list is the same .... and that is what this issue is all about. As for the future .... Facebook has a huge problem right now. In Canada the privacy commissioner is now involved, and I know too well on how that organization works (I was involved in a case dealing with security cameras being used in the public 15 years ago) .... and I can say with confidence that they will be telling Facebook that no one can have access to a user's Friend list. In the U..K., the EU, and in the U.S. there are now going to be hearings and investigations .... and I can tell by their rhetoric that there is going to be a push to change the status quo. Here is an easy prediction .... social media as we know it is now going to change .... expect government involvement and regulation and all that it will entail.
Update: I would not be surprised if he is right .... Academic behind Facebook breach says political influence was exaggerated (Reuters).
More News On The Backlash That Facebook Is Now Facing On How It Handles Its Data
US FTC probing Facebook data scandal: media -- AFP
Lawmakers zero in on Zuckerberg -- The Hill
Cambridge Analytica: Facebook ‘outraged’ over misuse of user data -- DW
British MPs summon Mark Zuckerberg, saying Facebook misled them -- The Guardian
UK investigates Facebook over Cambridge Analytica data breach -- Al Jazeera
Alexander Nix, Cambridge Analytica CEO, suspended after data scandal -- The Guardian
Cambridge Analytica bosses claimed they invented 'Crooked Hillary' campaign, won Donald Trump the presidency -- ABC News Online
Cambridge Analytica execs boast of role in getting Donald Trump elected -- The Guardian
Owners of Cambridge Analytica Accused of Caribbean Election Meddling, Bribery -- Sputnik
Facebook data row: Cambridge Analytica academic a 'scapegoat' -- BBC
Facebook scandal: I am being used as scapegoat – academic who mined data -- The Guardian
Academic says he’s being scapegoated in Facebook data case -- AP
Facebook investors may want to quiz Mark Zuckerberg -- Nils Pratley, The Guardian
Here's everything you need to know about the Cambridge Analytica scandal -- CNBC
Psychometrics: How Facebook data helped Trump find his voters -- AFP
How to protect your personal data from Facebook profiteering -- NBC
Facebook's biggest challenge yet -- Amol Rajan, BBC
This Is the Personal Data that Facebook Collects—And Sometimes Sells -- Fortune
