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How To Get Away With Murder — The Facebook Way
The Social Media Giant Walks Away Scot-Free After Killing Privacy
When Facebook announced its robust first-quarter results for 2019, it also disclosed the company is setting aside $3 billion in anticipation of a fine for violating the Federal Trade Commission’s 2011 privacy consent decree. For any other company, one would expect a multi-billion dollar fine to disappoint shareholders. Instead, Facebook’s share price rose by 8% and market capitalisation increased by $40 billion. The markets were cheering because Facebook was let off with a mere slap on the wrist.
How did Facebook escape unscathed after killing privacy?
Step 1: Choose a clever weapon
Facebook’s entire business model is based on getting more users and their personal data. The company earns 98% of its revenue from ads that rely on this data. To get it, Facebook had to invade user privacy. And its weapon of choice: the user. Buried in the lengthy terms and conditions that users accept when creating an account is a slate of permissions that allow the company to use personal data in all sorts of ways. This, along with the lack of user control over what information is shared, weak safeguards against data breaches, loose regulation of third-party apps and sketchy…
