An (Ethical) Lesson in Data Usage.

Exposed.

The ethical choice in most cases should have been obvious, but it clearly wasn’t the one made in some.

Facebook, just to name one. Facebook collects A LOT of data. It is seen as an impressive platform, but what comes with collecting data?

Facebook can analyse communication patterns and determine our moods, the strengths of our relationships, our tolerance and exposure to most media, our connectedness, our purchases… just to name a few.

The best (sarcasm) part? All this information can come bundled up in a package and sold to larger companies for targeted advertising, doesn’t sound too bad right? What about if you then knew the fact that most of Facebook’s ethical lapses involved the handling of your personal data… Yep, I saw it differently too.

With a huge amount of data, comes a HUGE amount of responsibility. If you sell data, you’re trying to achieve a goal, raw data is not a goal, companies want to determine the feasibility or success of their product.

So what happened in 2018? The Facebook-Cambridge Analytical data scandal is what happened.

The Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal was a major scandal in early 2018 where Cambridge Analytica harvested the personal data of millions of people’s Facebook profiles without their consent and used it for political advertising.

The first report was in December 2015 by a journalist for the Guardian, reporting that Cambridge Analytica was working for United States Senator Ted Cruz, using this data to target political campaigns. Facebook refused to comment. Further reports came next, from a Swiss publication of Das Magazin, and again, in The Guardian. Facebook refused to comment… again.

In 2018 it erupted, with an ex Cambridge Analytica researcher confirming to The Observer the reported allegations. Facebook eventually agreed to testify in front of the United States Congress.

The error? Cambridge Analytica claimed it had only collected 30 million Facebook user profiles, Facebook later confirmed that it actually had data on potentially over 87 million users. The data was detailed enough for Cambridge Analytica to create psychographic profiles of the subjects of the data as well as detail the locations of each person. This data was most effective to persuade a particular person, in a particular location for a particular political event.

INCLUDING the Ted Cruz Campaign in 2016 AND Donald Trump Campaign in 2016. Naaaasty.

The lesson learnt: Facebook announced it will soon label political ads and show who paid for them. Facebook will also require anyone who wants to run a political or issue ad to verify their identity and location. They also developed new artificial intelligence tools to detect and delete fake accounts spreading misinformation.. PHEW.

Our Conclusion: Do the Right Thing. (But what is the right thing?)

• The more information you have, the greater your responsibility to protect it.

• Behavioural / Personal information has an expiration date and should not be stored indefinitely except in aggregate.

• At no point should any specific information be shared with others unless it is clearly agreed to by your customers.

• Customers are allowed to change their mind. INFORMED consent is key.