Jul 27, 2019, 20:28 pm
The settlement agreement between the Federal Trade Commission and Facebook is grossly inadequate to the task of protecting the privacy of technology users from Facebook’s surveillance-based system of social networking and targeted advertising.
This settlement arises from the FTC’s 2012 settlement order against Facebook, concerning the company’s deceptive statements about user privacy. Facebook violated the 2012 FTC order through its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which violated the privacy rights of millions of Facebook users.
Today’s FTC-Facebook settlement does not sufficiently protect user privacy. For example:
* The agreement does not limit how Facebook collects, uses, and shares the personal information of its users. It is not enough for the agreement to require Facebook to conduct its own privacy review of new products; that just empowers Facebook to decide its own collection, use, and sharing practices.
* The agreement does not provide public transparency regarding how Facebook collects, uses, and shares personal information, or how Facebook implements the FTC settlement. It is not enough for only Facebook and the government to have this information.
* This agreement does nothing to address Facebook’s market power in social networks and internet advertising, and may risk cementing Facebook’s market power.
These deficiencies are not cured by the $5 billion fine against Facebook. For a company the size of Facebook, this is not an effective deterrent against future violations of user privacy.
It bears mentioning that Q1 2019 revenue for the company was $15 billion. In 2018, their total advertising revenue was $55 billion. Overall, Facebook’s fiscal 2019 revenue is projected to climb 24.1% from $55 billion to $69.31 billion.
Furthermore, the fine did little to curtail the popularity of Facebook or its family of services which includes Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. The daily and monthly active user totals climbed 8% in Q1.
If the FTC were serious about putting a dent in the privacy problems created by Facebook’s targeted advertising business model, it could have taken aim at two of Facebook’s biggest sources of information: data brokers and third-party tracking.
The settlement provisions require Facebook to delete existing face recognition templates, and bars Facebook from creating new ones, absent the user’s informed opt-in consent. Also, it bars Facebook from using phone numbers provided by users to enhance their security (i.e., for two-factor authentication) for advertising purposes. Unfortunately, the settlement does not address Facebook’s other egregious abuses of user phone numbers, including exposing two-factor authentication numbers to public reverse lookup, and vacuuming up “shadow” contact information that users never gave to Facebook in the first place.
Taken as a whole, this settlement is bad news for consumer privacy.
It is still business as usual for Facebook and its companies - the privacy violations, the data mining, profiting from personal content without user consent and the censorship of free speech.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/ft...ur-privacy
https://www.statista.com/statistics/5440...dwide-usa/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/topsto...ar-AAEIowr
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For Your Consideration:
Using Many Social Media Platforms Linked With Depression, Anxiety Risk
https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/d....2017.1b16
Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health
https://time.com/4793331/instagram-socia...al-health/
Depression and Social Media
https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/major-...ial-media/
Seeing Everyone Else's Highlight Reels: How Facebook Usage is Linked to Depressive Symptoms
https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10....4.33.8.701
Jealous Of Your Facebook Friends? Why Social Media Makes Us Bitter
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalto...aae40035cc
Facebook’s emotional consequences: Why Facebook causes a decrease in mood and why people still use it
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...3214001241
Do online social media cut through the constraints that limit the size of offline social networks?
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/f...sos.150292
Research Links Heavy Facebook And Social Media Usage To Depression
https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhr...epression/
Social Media Is Redefining 'Depression'
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...on/280818/
Using Social Media is Causing Anxiety, Stress and Depression
https://theheartysoul.com/mental-health-...ial-media/
The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents and Families
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/c.../800.short
Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl..._msnhealth
#Sleepyteens: Social media use in adolescence is associated with poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...via%3Dihub
Adolescent social media use and mental health from adolescent and parent perspectives
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...via%3Dihub
Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S.
https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749...8/fulltext
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How to permanently delete your Facebook account:
1. Click the downward facing arrow at the top right of any Facebook page.
2. Click Settings then click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
3. Click Deactivation and Deletion.
4. Choose Delete Account, then click Continue to Account Deletion.
5. Enter your password, click Continue and then click Delete Account.
How to deactivate Facebook Messenger:
You can only deactivate Messenger if you previously deactivated your Facebook account.
To deactivate Messenger after you've deactivated your Facebook account:
iPhone:
Open Messenger.
Tap your profile picture in the top left corner > Legal & Policies > Deactivate Messenger.
Enter your password and tap Continue.
Tap Deactivate.
Android:
Open Messenger.
Tap your profile picture in the top left corner > Legal & Policies > Deactivate Messenger.
Enter your password and tap Continue.
Tap Deactivate.
How to permanently delete your Instagram account:
1. Go to the Delete Your Account page. If you're not logged into Instagram on the web, you'll be asked to log in first. You can't delete your account from within the Instagram app.
2. Select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you deleting your account? and re-enter your password. The option to permanently delete your account will only appear after you've selected a reason from the menu.
3. Click or tap Permanently delete my account.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to permanently delete your Twitter account:
1. Click on Settings and privacy from the drop-down menu under your profile icon.
2. From the Account tab, click on Deactivate your account at the bottom of the page.
3. Read the account deactivation information, then click Deactivate @username.
4. Enter your password when prompted and confirm that you want to proceed by clicking the Deactivate account button.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to delete your LinkedIn account:
From the Settings & Privacy page:
1. Click the Me icon at top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Select Settings & Privacy from the dropdown.
3. Under the Account management section of the Account tab, click Change next to Closing your LinkedIn account
4. Check the reason for closing your account and click Next.
5. Enter your account password and click Close account.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to delete your Snapchat account:
1. Go to the accounts portal and type in the username and password for the account you want to delete.
2. After taking the steps to delete your account, it will first be deactivated for 30 days.
3. After 30 days, your account will be permanently deleted.
This settlement arises from the FTC’s 2012 settlement order against Facebook, concerning the company’s deceptive statements about user privacy. Facebook violated the 2012 FTC order through its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which violated the privacy rights of millions of Facebook users.
Today’s FTC-Facebook settlement does not sufficiently protect user privacy. For example:
* The agreement does not limit how Facebook collects, uses, and shares the personal information of its users. It is not enough for the agreement to require Facebook to conduct its own privacy review of new products; that just empowers Facebook to decide its own collection, use, and sharing practices.
* The agreement does not provide public transparency regarding how Facebook collects, uses, and shares personal information, or how Facebook implements the FTC settlement. It is not enough for only Facebook and the government to have this information.
* This agreement does nothing to address Facebook’s market power in social networks and internet advertising, and may risk cementing Facebook’s market power.
These deficiencies are not cured by the $5 billion fine against Facebook. For a company the size of Facebook, this is not an effective deterrent against future violations of user privacy.
It bears mentioning that Q1 2019 revenue for the company was $15 billion. In 2018, their total advertising revenue was $55 billion. Overall, Facebook’s fiscal 2019 revenue is projected to climb 24.1% from $55 billion to $69.31 billion.
Furthermore, the fine did little to curtail the popularity of Facebook or its family of services which includes Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. The daily and monthly active user totals climbed 8% in Q1.
If the FTC were serious about putting a dent in the privacy problems created by Facebook’s targeted advertising business model, it could have taken aim at two of Facebook’s biggest sources of information: data brokers and third-party tracking.
The settlement provisions require Facebook to delete existing face recognition templates, and bars Facebook from creating new ones, absent the user’s informed opt-in consent. Also, it bars Facebook from using phone numbers provided by users to enhance their security (i.e., for two-factor authentication) for advertising purposes. Unfortunately, the settlement does not address Facebook’s other egregious abuses of user phone numbers, including exposing two-factor authentication numbers to public reverse lookup, and vacuuming up “shadow” contact information that users never gave to Facebook in the first place.
Taken as a whole, this settlement is bad news for consumer privacy.
It is still business as usual for Facebook and its companies - the privacy violations, the data mining, profiting from personal content without user consent and the censorship of free speech.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/ft...ur-privacy
https://www.statista.com/statistics/5440...dwide-usa/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/topsto...ar-AAEIowr
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Your Consideration:
Using Many Social Media Platforms Linked With Depression, Anxiety Risk
https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/d....2017.1b16
Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health
https://time.com/4793331/instagram-socia...al-health/
Depression and Social Media
https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/major-...ial-media/
Seeing Everyone Else's Highlight Reels: How Facebook Usage is Linked to Depressive Symptoms
https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10....4.33.8.701
Jealous Of Your Facebook Friends? Why Social Media Makes Us Bitter
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalto...aae40035cc
Facebook’s emotional consequences: Why Facebook causes a decrease in mood and why people still use it
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...3214001241
Do online social media cut through the constraints that limit the size of offline social networks?
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/f...sos.150292
Research Links Heavy Facebook And Social Media Usage To Depression
https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhr...epression/
Social Media Is Redefining 'Depression'
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...on/280818/
Using Social Media is Causing Anxiety, Stress and Depression
https://theheartysoul.com/mental-health-...ial-media/
The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents and Families
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/c.../800.short
Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl..._msnhealth
#Sleepyteens: Social media use in adolescence is associated with poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...via%3Dihub
Adolescent social media use and mental health from adolescent and parent perspectives
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...via%3Dihub
Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S.
https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749...8/fulltext
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to permanently delete your Facebook account:
1. Click the downward facing arrow at the top right of any Facebook page.
2. Click Settings then click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
3. Click Deactivation and Deletion.
4. Choose Delete Account, then click Continue to Account Deletion.
5. Enter your password, click Continue and then click Delete Account.
How to deactivate Facebook Messenger:
You can only deactivate Messenger if you previously deactivated your Facebook account.
To deactivate Messenger after you've deactivated your Facebook account:
iPhone:
Open Messenger.
Tap your profile picture in the top left corner > Legal & Policies > Deactivate Messenger.
Enter your password and tap Continue.
Tap Deactivate.
Android:
Open Messenger.
Tap your profile picture in the top left corner > Legal & Policies > Deactivate Messenger.
Enter your password and tap Continue.
Tap Deactivate.
How to permanently delete your Instagram account:
1. Go to the Delete Your Account page. If you're not logged into Instagram on the web, you'll be asked to log in first. You can't delete your account from within the Instagram app.
2. Select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you deleting your account? and re-enter your password. The option to permanently delete your account will only appear after you've selected a reason from the menu.
3. Click or tap Permanently delete my account.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to permanently delete your Twitter account:
1. Click on Settings and privacy from the drop-down menu under your profile icon.
2. From the Account tab, click on Deactivate your account at the bottom of the page.
3. Read the account deactivation information, then click Deactivate @username.
4. Enter your password when prompted and confirm that you want to proceed by clicking the Deactivate account button.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to delete your LinkedIn account:
From the Settings & Privacy page:
1. Click the Me icon at top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Select Settings & Privacy from the dropdown.
3. Under the Account management section of the Account tab, click Change next to Closing your LinkedIn account
4. Check the reason for closing your account and click Next.
5. Enter your account password and click Close account.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to delete your Snapchat account:
1. Go to the accounts portal and type in the username and password for the account you want to delete.
2. After taking the steps to delete your account, it will first be deactivated for 30 days.
3. After 30 days, your account will be permanently deleted.
