The Cambridge Analytica controversy has opened a Pandora’s box for Facebook
Facebook, Facebook. If you’re interested in the world of social media and technology, then the past few days have been all about the social network. How it graduated from a dorm to a multi-billion-dollar business is a well-documented story. That it has flaws, loopholes and it’s far from perfect is also common knowledge. However, what’s new is the kind of negativity and backlash Facebook is facing. Its billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the social network company are getting hammered from almost every quarter. Be it users, companies, politicians, the media – almost everyone is firing shots at Facebook. Here we take a look at the barrage of onslaught which Facebook is facing and how things have gone from bad to worse.
From brands and other companies Mozilla was the first company to come out and say that it’s stopping advertising on Facebook as well not posting on its Facebook page. In a blog posted on Wednesday, the company said, “We’re taking a break from Facebook,” Mozilla said in a blog post on Wednesday. However, it did not delete its page could come back if Facebook takes action to protect users’ data.
Elon Musk too weighed in the controversy by taking down Facebook pages of his companies Tesla and SpaceX. A user on Twitter asked Musk to “delete SpaceX page on Facebook if you’re the man.” Musk promptly replied saying that he didn’t even realise there was on and immediately deleted it along with the Tesla Facebook page. Other companies to stop advertising, or rather “putting it on hold” include electronics major Sonos and German bank Commerzbank.
From Wall Street It’s been a terrible week in most senses for Facebook but from its shares’ point of view it has been the worst since 2012. The company’s shares fell more than 13 per cent and it was reported that Facebook lost roughly $75 billion in market capitalization this week.
From celebrities
Hollywood star Jim Carrey — who had announced in February that he quit Facebook – took to Twitter to criticize Zuckerberg and asking to regulate Facebook. Carrey had quit Facebook because of the social media’s alleged profiteering “from Russian interference” in the US elections. Singer-actress Cher also announced that she was quitting Facebook. Silicon Valley star Kumail Nanjiani also wrote on Twitter, “I don’t know how anybody can continue using Facebook.”
From governments and politicians
Several countries’ governments – including India – came out with strong words against Facebook. US lawmakers have asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify at a committee hearing about the alleged misuse of user data.
British Prime Minister Theresa May also expressed “concerns” over the data of over 50 million users being leaked. Ravi Shankar Prasad, union minister of IT and electronics, India, meanwhile said that it won’t tolerate any attempt to influence voters in the country.
So as mentioned earlier, the onslaught on Facebook has been relentless and so far shows no sign of slowing down. It remains to be seen how Zuckerberg and co. ride this storm. We can, however, safely say that the “news feed” for Facebook does not make for a pleasant reading.
