Be Very Afraid: Leaked Memo Reveals How FaceBook Uses Your Data - And It Is Worse Than Anyone Thought

Written By BlabberBuzz | Thursday, 28 April 2022 02:15 AM
4
Views 13.5K
Be Very Afraid: Leaked Memo Reveals How FaceBook Uses Your Data - And It Is Worse Than Anyone Thought

A recently leaked internal memo from Facebook revealed that the company has no idea where its user data are going or what it is doing with them. This revelation could complicate the company’s future as a growing number of countries attempt to regulate and protect user privacy and digital ad sales. Naturally, Facebook is beginning to realize how little control it has over its ability to regulate data collection and ad operation.

“We do not have an adequate level of control and explainability over how our systems use data, and thus we can’t confidently make controlled policy changes or external commitments such as ‘we will not use X data for Y purpose,’” Facebook's privacy engineers wrote in a 2021 memo obtained by Motherboard. “And yet, this is exactly what regulators expect us to do.”

The memo addressed the growing pressure from the European Union and India over the company’s usage of private data in advertising and claims that past policy attempts were “insufficient.”

 MUST WATCH NY DEPUTY COMMISSIONER: "SOMEBODY IS RADICALIZING OUR STUDENTS"bell_image

The reason behind these complications is what the engineers call “data lineage.” Regulators have attempted to control what data is gathered and how they are used. For example, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation requires that any collected personal data be “collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes.” Meaning that any data a company collects for a specific purpose, such as identity authentication, can only be used for that sole purpose and not for anything else.

 WATCH: FLORIDA TO ELIMINATE WOKE TRAINING INDOCTRINATIONbell_image

However, Facebook’s privacy engineers claim that they do not have enough control to maintain those standards, which makes adherence to federal regulations increasingly challenging and could expose the company to fines over its data control.

 ISRAEL PUSHES AHEAD WITH RAFAH OPERATION, INITIATES EVACUATION OF PALESTINIANSbell_image

“Considering this document does not describe our extensive processes and controls to comply with privacy regulations, it’s simply inaccurate to conclude that it demonstrates non-compliance. New privacy regulations across the globe introduce different requirements, and this document reflects the technical solutions we are building to scale the current measures we have in place to manage data and meet our obligations,” a Meta spokesperson told Motherboard.

 WATCH: BOY SCOUT VOLUNTEER SENTENCED FOR HIDDEN BATHROOM CAMERASbell_image

European regulators have started employing additional steps to regulate Facebook and Twitter. The EU established the final wording for the Digital Markets Act, which would combat any potential concerns regarding antitrust that could arise amid the various social media companies. There are also concerns regarding how Facebook’s and Instagram’s handling of data transfers could lead to the social media networks being shut down in Europe.

X