There has been much made in the news lately about Facebook letting its users down. The most egregious abuse is the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the social network allowed that third party company to collect private user data. It has led many to join the #DeleteFacebook movement, where angry users have terminated their accounts. Facebook has since apologized using full-page newspaper advertisements.
There has been much made in the news lately about Facebook letting its users down. The most egregious abuse is the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the social network allowed that third party company to collect private user data. It has led many to join the #DeleteFacebook movement, where angry users have terminated their accounts. Facebook has since apologized using full-page newspaper advertisements.
Unfortunately, there is yet another Facebook outrage happening at the same time — it has been discovered that the company has been logging phone call and SMS information from Android users. Today, Facebook admits to the behavior, but it claims the blame is with users. In other words, Facebook is taking no responsibility.
Facebook issues the following statement.
You know what? Facebook isn’t wrong. Look, the tone of this explanation is a bit condescending, but overall, it does seem that Android users have no one to blame but themselves. As you can see from the image above, users had the option to tap « Not now » to avoid the logging. If they instead chose « Turn On, » then they willfully accepted the behavior.
Could Facebook be more transparent? Absolutely. But still, users need to do their due diligence when signing up for apps and services.
Do you think Facebook is wrong to blame its own users? Please tell me in the comments below.
Photo credit: DJTaylor / Shutterstock
