back to article That long-awaited Mark Zuckerberg response: Everything's fine! Mostly fixed! Facebook's great! All good in the hoodie!

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has broken his silence about his data gathering and advertising firm's unforeseen role in data gathering and advertising. On Wednesday, Zuckerberg provided "an update on the Cambridge Analytica situation," a reference to the UK-based data analytics firm's alleged use of 50 million Facebook …

  1. DeKrow
    Holmes

    Nothing to see here folks, sorry that the curtain got lifted a little, we're weighing it down a bit heavier now. We don't want third parties using the kind of power that we've been working for years towards leveraging.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Nothing to see here folks, sorry that the curtain got lifted a little, we're weighing it down a bit heavier now.

      Only to have the weight accidentally rip the whole curtain down and showing everything.

      /CanOfWorms

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Nothing to see here folks, sorry that the curtain got lifted a little,

      Indeed.

      Also, while we know how much did Facebook "Shared and Cared", how much did UK Department of Defence, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ share. After all this lovely, moral and proper company called Cambridge Analytica had List X access courtesy of its parent company being List X cleared:

      https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/21/mod-cambridge-analytica-parent-company-scl-group-list-x

      It is so improper and unfair. Such persecution of the tool we use to f*** up the democratic process elsewhere. No, we never ever rig other country's elections. Spare the thought...

      1. Danny 2

        That helps explain why the ICO still doesn't have a warrant to visit Cambridge Analytica, while TV shows boxes of documents and backups being evacuated.

        I wonder which government ministers got the beautiful Ukrainian women.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          That helps explain why the ICO still doesn't have a warrant

          It will not have one. I do not often agree with Putin and Co, but they had a point in yesterday's diplomatic briefing at their ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday: UK Government has a track record in hiding, falsifying and doctoring evidence to erase the traces of its involvement. This case is one of many.

      2. ToastandMarmite

        That isn't how List X works, it doesn't give blanket List X status to the company, all it's sites and subsidiaries. If CA didn't receive their own List X accreditation, then they shouldn't have had any involvement with that MoD contract.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Meh

      Re: Nothing to see here folks

      We don't want third parties using the kind of power that we've been working for years towards leveraging.

      Certainly not people paying cheap seat academic researcher rates for the data and then flogging it on. They will be paying the full commercial rates for it like everyone else.

    4. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Unhappy

      I see the picture and I think...

      What, me worried?

      Noooo.

      He got the users to hand over a shedload of their personal details to them and the stockholders to hand over a tonne of cash for a business that's basically a server farm in assets and whose dividend policy has a P/E ratio measured in centuries.

      Why wouldn't he think he could hand any random stranger a plate of dog poo and get them to eat it?

      He already has. Twice.

    5. Mage Silver badge

      We don't want third parties using

      except when they pay us enough and we are sure they won't get caught.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    'Irish Regulator (@DPCIreland) saw a "satisfactory response" in 2012 by Facebook'

    Lets be clear what 'satisfactory' means to a country who has utterly prostituted itself for US tech giants. German-data-protection-federal-commissioner: - 'Of course Facebook would go to a country with the lowest levels of data protection. It’s natural they would choose Ireland.' Unfortunately, the new Data Protection Bill 2018 will reinforce that view":

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/privacy-rights-it-s-natural-facebook-would-choose-ireland-1.3400531

    https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/independence-of-data-protection-commissioner-questioned-1.2513682

    http://www.thejournal.ie/data-protection-commissioner-new-office-1488473-May2014/

    https://qz.com/162791/how-a-bureaucrat-in-a-struggling-country-at-the-edge-of-europe-found-himself-safeguarding-the-worlds-data/

    https://qz.com/993995/how-facebooks-fb-sheryl-sandberg-personally-lobbied-irish-prime-minister-enda-kenny-as-shown-by-2014-emails-published-in-the-irish-independent/

  3. beep54
    Devil

    It is interesting that MZ seems to have stepped up his sale of FB shares recently. Wonder why?

    1. Aynon Yuser

      I believe you're wondering about the term "insider trading".

    2. LucreLout

      It is interesting that MZ seems to have stepped up his sale of FB shares recently. Wonder why?

      In fairness to the annoying, smug, irritating, mostly irrelevant, millenial tw@, if I owned a company worth £500Bn ish, I'd be gradually flogging it off and diversifying. Just in case something I knocked up at college to help me get laid doesn't turn out to be as critical for society as it was for my college days.

      1. Pascal Monett Silver badge
        Trollface

        He didn't have time to get laid in college ; he was too busy stealing other people's code to make FaceBook.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    <<< Isn't it time for Kalanick 2.0 to go >>>

    He can go back to his robots, pushing indigenous people off their Islands, and voyeuristically looking at Puerto Rican's suffering. If users won't close their Facebook accounts, then disengage from the platform / lose less time on there. Make it harder for sociopath Zuk to pretend to his Ad pals that FaVebook is still growing. Zuk: users are 'dumb fucks' - Time to resign!

    1. Aynon Yuser

      Re: <<< Isn't it time for Kalanick 2.0 to go >>>

      He'll voyeuristically watch Puerto Rican children suffer while he does everything he can to protect his offspring. He's so far disconnected from reality. He's a dumb fuck.

      1. jelabarre59

        Re: <<< Isn't it time for Kalanick 2.0 to go >>>

        He'll voyeuristically watch Puerto Rican children suffer while he does everything he can to protect his offspring. He's so far disconnected from reality. He's a dumb fuck.

        AND he likes bribing county legislators and county executives to get them to tear up a perfectly functional tourist railroad, just so him and maybe three friends can ride a "rail trail".

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: <<< Isn't it time for Kalanick 2.0 to go >>>

      Why would he go? He has a controlling share in the company that has great profit margins and a compliant board. Oh, and by the way, everybody who used the service agreed to the exfiltration.

      If previous outrages have shown us anything is that we'll see a bit of slacktivism for a bit but the vast majority of people will continue exposing their personal data without a thought.

    3. croc

      Re: <<< Isn't it time for Kalanick 2.0 to go >>>

      "Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard

      Zuck: Just ask

      Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS

      [Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How'd you manage that one?

      Zuck: People just submitted it.

      Zuck: I don't know why.

      Zuck: They "trust me"

      Zuck: Dumb fucks

      Instant messages sent by Zuckerberg during Facebook's early days, reported by Business Insider (May 13, 2010)"

      A timely reminder...

      1. David Nash Silver badge

        Re: <<< Isn't it time for Kalanick 2.0 to go >>>

        Good point...I always remember the last two lines of that quote, but I think these days the first two are equally important!

  5. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
    Holmes

    Great minds think alike

    I came up with the same phrase as Zuck!

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect my ass."

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect my political ambitions."

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect my dosh."

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our marks."

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our data."

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our community."

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect my golden goose."

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to deflect attention."

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to cover our tracks."

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

    https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/mark-zuckerberg-s-facebook-manifesto-we-read-between-the-lines-1.2979260

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

      People (the liberals in America) still haven't emotionally got over Hillary's loss in 2016, they're clutching at straws, at whoever's available who might potentially depose Trump in 2020.

      The Rock, Oprah, Zucky, Mark Cuban, Biden, Michelle Obama etc.

      1. LucreLout

        Re: How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

        ...they're clutching at straws, at whoever's available who might potentially depose Trump in 2020.

        The Rock, Oprah, Zucky, Mark Cuban, Biden, Michelle Obama etc.

        I could well imagine Michelle Obama beating other contenders in 2020. I think the main decision as to whether she runs is of the twitching corpse of the Clinton machine enters another spasm, and whether her children want the obvious impact of another 8 years in the White House.

        While my politics differ from the Obamas, they deserve the utmost respect for their families conduct in office. I dislike political dynasties intensely - how many Kinnocks do we have to pay for FFS??

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

      It's looking great.

      The "guns for hire" which could potentially be available to the competition are getting slaughtered.

      That leaves his own onboard artillery commanding the battlefield once the smoke is cleared.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

      It occurs to me that one way to become president might be after just having four or eight years of someone so terrible that people would vote for anyone who isn't a racist grandad.

      If only a billionaire social media boss had some way to swing the result one way or the other...

      1. SundogUK Silver badge

        Re: How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

        I note you concede he may get two terms...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

          I note you note you think anonymous is an an american liberal. At least I think I note that.

        2. Carpet Deal 'em

          Re: How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

          > I note you concede he may get two terms...

          Unless things chase rather bigly on the Democrats' side, Trump'll win 2020 by default.

        3. JohnFen

          Re: How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

          Well, the US has lost its collective mind, so anything is possible. Anything at all.

    4. leenex

      Re: How's that 'Presidential Run' looking now Zuckky?

      Now that Charles Manson is dead, and Anders Behring Breivik has yet to become a cherished Immigrant from Norway, it's looking good.

      Fascistbook would become the new Fox News, and new countries could be invaded on a daily basis.

      No questions answered.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Gentle reminder that Facebook Inc also owns Instagram and Whatsapp

    Any privacy issues at Facebook the social media site probably has also affected, in some degrees, Instagram and Whatsapp.

    1. Mark 85

      Re: Gentle reminder that Facebook Inc also owns Instagram and Whatsapp

      Not to mention that there's probably a whole lot of data sharing going on between them and the selling of ads, etc.

    2. JohnFen

      Re: Gentle reminder that Facebook Inc also owns Instagram and Whatsapp

      Yep. Any company that Facebook owns can't be trusted to any degree greater than Facebook itself.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just Say No

    Why not just disqualify people with social media accounts from voting? Of course, we'd need an impartial arbiter - I'm available - to decide what qualifies as a social media account. Definitely not ElReg commenters.

  9. Yes Me Silver badge
    Happy

    Terms and Conditions May Apply

    It's a bit old news now, but it's still worth watching the doco movie Terms and Conditions May Apply. Especially the fun part near the end where the film-maker doorsteps Zuck at his home and, er, invades his privacy.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How long can Zuk Perpetuate all the lies...

    Zuck's excuses don't fix anything. The problem is Facebook, not outside parties. FB lies to users that it exists to 'connect them', when everyone else knows this is solely about high-targeted advertising (commercial & political).

    The Problem Is Facebook, Not Cambridge Analytica

    https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-20/facebook-not-cambridge-analytica-is-the-source-of-the-problem

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      'Lies...'

      "No apology to users, investors or staff over how this incident was allowed to happen by the data policies in place at the time.

      No explanation as to why, after learning its data was being abused like this in 2014, it opted to give the companies a telling off instead of banning them outright.

      No reasoning as to why Facebook failed to inform users their data may have been affected.

      Mr Zuckerberg's words were not an explanation, but a legal and political defence. This company knows it is heading into battle on multiple fronts. "

      ///

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43494337

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 'Lies...'

        Lest we not forget the racial profiling scandal that is still going on, that is linked because that's part of how this is all possible.

        "In fact, the only meaningful change Facebook appears to have made is a cosmetic one: the company renamed “ethnic affinity” to “multicultural affinity” and relocated the category under “Behaviours.” (Previously it was listed under “Demographics.”)"

    2. Mark 85

      Re: How long can Zuk Perpetuate all the lies...

      FB lies to users that it exists to 'connect them', when everyone else knows this is solely about high-targeted advertising (commercial & political).

      We might know it but does the average user know it and understand the ramifications? I seriously doubt it. We could replace FB with "smart phone" and the same would apply. Users either have no clue or don't care.

  11. Andy Mac

    Barn/Stable door?

    I don’t think there’s a door at all. Zuck seems to be standing next to a gaping portal, insisting that there’s no need for one, the horses are fine thank you, and no that’s not them disappearing into the distance.

  12. Winkypop Silver badge
    Devil

    It wasn't us

    Some big boys did it, then ran away...

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Who'd a thunk it?

    People spaff out their most personal info to a large corporation who then makes money from it / abuses it!

    Nobody saw that coming.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Who'd a thunk it?

      "Nobody saw that coming."

      Clearly nobody who has an account did.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Intriguing, but still no closer to the whole truth...

    Wonder, how often + what kinds of 'Private Messages' got 'SOLD OFF' etc:

    .

    https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/0321/949029-facebook-data/

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/20/facebook-data-cambridge-analytica-sandy-parakilas

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5277695/Former-Facebook-execs-call-company-crime-scene.html

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      You can be sure that Zuckerberg's PM's

      Plus his entourage, were securely ring-fenced from the sell-off.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hack >> Breach >> uhh, Breach of Trust??? Yeah, that's it....

    No hack, no data breach, just slurpping up data from survey responders (300,000), and their Friends (50M+). But not the Friends (1B+) of their Friends.

    All according to the terms that FB'ers agreed to.

    But they are still "Shocked!, Shocked!!" they are. As Zuckie says:" they are just "dumb f$%ks" that agree to give away their personal data.

  16. PhilipN Silver badge

    Come on - He's serious. He said so - and more than once!

    Has to, 'cos he's got the sort of face that looks as if he really doesn't give a shit.

    Funny that.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

    said the Captain of the Titanic after it had hit that bit of ice.

    Just say NO to all of the Social Network (sorry Slurping YOUR Life Networks). We had a life before this crap and we should be able to rise up and have one again PFB (Post FaceBook).

    Any accounts or ID's on them purporting to be me are totally fake. I have never even seen a FB login screen and never want to.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

      "Just say NO to all of the Social Network (sorry Slurping YOUR Life Networks). We had a life before this crap and we should be able to rise up and have one again PFB (Post FaceBook)."

      Oh? We had life before cars and electricity, too. Thing is, once you reach a certain point, the momentum keeps it from reversing barring something of cataclysmic proportions. Basically, unless Facebook directly causes the loss of a significant percentage of the population, people will see Facebook as too useful to ignore, especially for people for whom it's the ONE AND ONLY form of contact (I speak firsthand on that). And no, various family values preclude ignoring people for whom Facebook is the exclusive contact point.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

        "We had life before cars and electricity, too."

        We had life before horse and cart. We had life before steam locomotion. We had life before gas lighting. All those things were indispensable in their time but we discovered alternatives. The end of history is a fallacy; every age has thought it had achieved the pinnacle of human achievement.

        "And no, various family values preclude ignoring people for whom Facebook is the exclusive contact point."

        How about telephones or are you post-telephone? How about letters or are you post-letters? Email? MySpace? If you can dispose of those to communicate only by FB, something you (plural) must have let happen by mutual consent because nobody actually forced it on you, then you can also dispose of FB.

        You may not have any contingency plans in place but you'll struggle on somehow.

        Don't think FB is too big to fail. There's no such thing. Banks weren't allowed to fail because they were too big, they were allowed to fail because they were too embedded in the workings of the economy. That took a few centuries to happen, not a few years.

        1. Charles 9

          Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

          "How about telephones or are you post-telephone?"

          YES! Phone calls costs, but "Facebook is Free."

          "How about letters or are you post-letters?"

          YES! Many of them are in the sticks. Letters to them get Return to Sender.

          "Email? MySpace?"

          YES! Internet access costs, but "Facebook is Free."

          "If you can dispose of those to communicate only by FB, something you (plural) must have let happen by mutual consent because nobody actually forced it on you, then you can also dispose of FB."

          I can't. Family First. And before Facebook, I would probably only learn of family I never knew about in funereal letters from others years after the fact.

          1. israel_hands

            Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

            YES! Internet access costs, but "Facebook is Free."

            How do you access Facebook without the internet?

            Your entire, um, "argument" makes no sense. If you don't believe people will ever move beyond Facebook then I suggest you go and look at how popular MySpace is these days. For a while that was extremely popular too. Others have tried pointing this out but you seem incapable of understanding that things that were once deemed essential are eventually superseded.

            1. Charles 9

              Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

              "How do you access Facebook without the internet?"

              Directly from mobile network via feature phone apps built into those phones.

              1. israel_hands

                Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

                "How do you access Facebook without the internet?"

                Directly from mobile network via feature phone apps built into those phones.

                Those phones and data plans cost money. Your argument is as clueless as you are.

          2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

            Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

            @Charles 9

            If, as a result of all this FB goes titsup (and the word in the UK is that advertisers are now starting to get twitchy about it which could spell bad news), what are you going to do?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Meh

          Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

          I'd assume that if someone only gave you FB as a way of contacting them, that's probably because they don't, in fact, want you contacting them.

        3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

          " they were allowed to fail "

          weren't, dammit, weren't!

      2. JohnFen

        Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

        "various family values preclude ignoring people for whom Facebook is the exclusive contact point."

        If I had a friend or family member who is only willing to talk to me through Facebook, that person has abandoned me, not the other way around. I'm not ignoring them -- they're ignoring me.

        1. Charles 9

          Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

          And by doing so, you risk the rest of your family ignoring you. That's how touchy some families (particularly in the far east--family is more important than the individual, death before dishonor, etc.) are about keeping in touch.

          1. JohnFen

            Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

            That makes no sense. If staying in touch is that important, then one would think they'd be willing to go to the effort to have more than one means of doing so.

            1. Charles 9

              Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

              "That makes no sense. If staying in touch is that important, then one would think they'd be willing to go to the effort to have more than one means of doing so."

              They can't AFFORD it. Why do you think I keep saying "Facebook is Free"? Have you seen the way of live in parts of Southeast Asia where the software companies don't bother chasing bootleggers because they can't expect honest customers in the first place? That destitute.

              1. JohnFen

                Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

                I don't buy that. Facebook hasn't existed for very long -- what you're saying would mean that before Facebook, families were unable to stay in contact with each other. That seems incorrect on it's face.

                What Facebook does is make things convenient, nothing more. If family is as important as you say, then a little less convenience will not stop them from staying in touch.

    2. wscull

      Re: "Don't worry Folks, everything is fine"

      SHUT YOUR FACEBOOK

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    http://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-40852227/the-digital-guru-who-helped-donald-trump-to-the-presidency

    Project Alamo - data from CA. Theresa Hong (wrongly marked as Wong which has not been picked up by many websites - https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresahong)) from the Trump campaign says, "Without Facebook, we wouldn't have won." (@4:21)

    That's some pretty damning evidence if you ask me. I would love to see CA try suing after that.

    From her linkdin,

    Digital Content Director

    Donald J. Trump for President/Presidential Inaugural Campaign

    May 2016 – January 2017 (9 months)San Antonio, Texas Area

    Directed, planned, created and oversaw digital content strategy/messaging for the Donald J. Trump for President Digital Media and President-elect Donald J. Trump Inaugural team. Working with a $150 million budget, and under Brad Parscale, digital media director, campaign communications staff and RNC policy department, developed and sourced organic, paid social, display, blog, video, email, sms/mms, website, and other messaging and content encompassing a variety of platforms and sites. Worked with partners to identify/test psychographic information and created content focusing on specific demographics, as well as social media partners Google, YouTube, Facebook/Instagram, Twitter and SnapChat for ad serving/placement.

    I mean really? Look at the last sentence, it's basically admitting everything they did and did anyone actually believe they only used Facebook?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I'll add brexit to this just for fun.

      https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/big-data-better-donald-trump/1383025#bpBH5hbxRmLJyxh0.99

      "Recently, Cambridge Analytica has teamed up with Leave.EU – the UK’s largest group advocating for a British exit (or ‘Brexit’) from the European Union – to help them better understand and communicate with UK voters. We have already helped supercharge Leave.EU’s social media campaign by ensuring the right messages are getting to the right voters online, and the campaign’s Facebook page is growing in support to the tune of about 3,000 people per day."

      Alexander Nix - former CEO of Cambridge Analytica and a director of the Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) Group.

      Strange how they now deny any involvement.

  19. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Windows

    The saddest thing of all...

    Is that people will swallow this and "move on" without a moment's reflection.

    I hate to use lazy symbolism like "sheeple", but you know...

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: The saddest thing of all...

      People are idiots.

      1. John G Imrie
        Trollface

        Re: The saddest thing of all...

        People are idiots.

        And that's the intelligent ones.

  20. fpx
    Trollface

    Facebook is Angry

    ... but only because someone made money off their data that they would rather keep for themselves.

    Governments are not going to act, because they lust after the same data for, er, you know, terrorists! They just need to scare Facebook into a little more data sharing, pretty please.

    1. Paul 195

      Re: Facebook is Angry

      That's not fair, it makes them sound greedy. They knew all about the exfiltration of friends' data for a long time before they decided to close that particular door.

      No, they're angry because they've been caught red-handed, and because they couldn't bully the people carrying the story into silence.

  21. Potemkine! Silver badge

    We are deeply committed blah blah blah

    and now look the other way and let us do our dirty business as usual.

    If only at first people were not dumb enough to put all these data online... dream on!

  22. druck Silver badge
    Flame

    Facebook data use rules

    1. Don't get caught

    2. There is no 2.

    1. VinceH

      Re: Facebook data use rules

      But there is a 1b: If you do get caught, we'll try to minimise damage to ourselves. You can take as much of the blame as possible.

  23. walatam

    "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our community."

    Yeah, sure. I think he should define what he means by "community" - the shareholders, the developers, the ad slingers, the data miners, the end users? I have a feeling that the end user is not at the centre of FB's concerns and won't be until there is a significant drop in user numbers or there is a big enough cost to FB as a result of their practices.

    1. VinceH

      Re: "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our community."

      I think you got the order of importance slightly wrong there. It's the shareholders, the ad slingers, the data miners, then the developers, and the end users.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: "I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our community."

        "I think you got the order of importance slightly wrong there."

        It's not the order that was wrong it was the elements. Me, family, cronies.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I have nothing to hide

    A great lesson to those who say privacy isn’t important because I have nothing to hide. Someone will come along and weaponise your seemingly boring and unimportant life in ways you cannot imagine, you can bet on it.

    1. Sir Runcible Spoon
      Thumb Up

      Re: I have nothing to hide

      Contributing to the undermining of the democratic process (what's left of it) is right up there as a reason that privacy is important.

    2. Paul 195

      Re: I have nothing to hide

      I wish I could give you more than one upvote. I'm really tired of the stupidity of people who say "they have nothing to hide". Even if you don't have anything to hide, it's nobody else's business unless you want it to be.

  25. Adam 52 Silver badge

    Kohan

    "Kogan, who claims he's being scapegoated"

    He wrote an app that scraped 30 to 50 million peoples' information, claiming to be for an academic research project and then passed that data to CA.

    He's not being made a scapegoat, he's being called up for exactly what he did.

    Massive Data Protection Act breach and you've got to ask about Cambridge University's ethics committee.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: Kohan

      you've got to ask about Cambridge University's ethics committee

      They have a very active one! Fido, dogbreath and Sir Barksalot are very active and involved!

      (With chasing a ball round the park, barking at stuff and enjoying the treats that they get when they put their pawprint&w signature on stuff.)

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You signed up for it.

    You signed up and gave them your data, what's with the whinging?

    1. Sir Runcible Spoon
      Happy

      Re: You signed up for it.

      I'm not sure most people understand how their data would be used to manipulate the voting public for nefarious ends.

      I mean, they were only told it would backfire on them about 100 times a day, but people who know everything...know everything. Except what they don't know, which is everything :)

      1. Charles 9

        Re: You signed up for it.

        Let's not start. Now you'll talk about people who think they know but swear they know they know, think they know they know, know they think they know, until it's turtles all the way down...

        1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: You signed up for it.

          "it's turtles all the way down"

          It's Dunning-Kruger and just one level's enough.

        2. Sir Runcible Spoon

          @Charles 9

          Unless a person accepts that there is a lot to know, and that they can't possibly know all there is to know, then they can't really be said to know, can they?

          The Universe is Torus shaped when viewed from the outside, so there is really only one turtle :)

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I'm not sure most people understand how their data would be used

        I'm not sure most people care to pause for a second to consider if there's anything to understand. Yes, they signed up for it, dumb fucks, and their friends (including my family), who are on fb and didn't care about t&t and didn't ask themselves, why they are so long and convoluted, when they're written by extremely intelligent and extremely well-paid fb lawyers, while fb itself is FREE, are likewise, dumb fucks, and I stopped trying to make them see what it's about LONG time ago. This current shitstorm will change nothing in human nature, other than dress a couple of windows, and provide a topic for a couple of days or weeks.

      3. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: You signed up for it.

        I'm not sure most people understand how their data

        I think that the last three words are redundant. The average[1] person really, really doesn't understand how much data that they give away every day and for how little cost. And how much can be done with not only the data itself but the connections between data points.

        [1] If such a mythical being exists.

        1. JohnFen

          Re: You signed up for it.

          Even worse than this, most people don't understand how their use of Facebook is actively throwing their friends and family under the bus.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: You signed up for it.

            They're really not "thrown under the bus" no-one has been harmed here. The users all signed up and gave facebook data. Facebook sells data and sometimes that has political buyers (in the legitimate sense). The upshot is that you get targetted with political (or other) ads more precisely to persuade you one way or another.

            That, is not being "thrown under a bus".

            1. JohnFen

              Re: You signed up for it.

              Obviously, I disagree. They are thrown under the bus. Facebook collects data on the friends and family of users even when those friends and family don't have Facebook accounts themselves.

              How is that not throwing them under the bus?

  27. arctic_haze
    FAIL

    Facebook has still not learned the lesson

    I'm not even writing about private data security but rather about manipulation. I have an account under false name so I'm not worried about the former.

    So I made yesterday a test. I make posts on FB linking several articles and YT videos about the company problems. None of them got a preview (with title and some graphic from the linked page). However, when I linked some webpages and videos about cute animals, all of them got the previews inviting to click the link.

    Funny? No. Rather pathetic.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: Facebook has still not learned the lesson

      How long do you think you'll have before your false identity is revealed and your real name pinned by someone who knows you by several degrees of separation?

      1. arctic_haze

        Re: Facebook has still not learned the lesson

        I think it is easy to guess my surname because the account is used mostly to see photos posted by the family. However because I do not post about myself, this guess would not help them much. They could learn that I used to upvote family members and recently posted something about Facebook and cute animals.

        However, I seriously think about closing it down anyway.

        1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

          Re: Facebook has still not learned the lesson

          guess my surname because the account is used mostly to see photos posted by the family

          Both of which are easily sufficient to identify you if a malicious person or persons wished to. In fact, just the latter you be enough - especially when combined with other friends and family data.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There's a simple answer to all this

    Stop giving companies like Facebook access to your personal and sensitive identifiable information.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: There's a simple answer to all this

      So what happens when (not if) you MUST submit your information just to function in society? Retire to the mountains and hope you're not seen by a survey plane?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        So what happens when (not if) you MUST submit your information just to function in society?

        Give it a rest. You use Facebook, fine. But your never ending justifications are getting more and more ridiculous.

  29. Mage Silver badge

    Zuckerberg says Facebook will also "restrict developers' data access.

    A) Why are they GATHERING the info, it's far beyond what people type into profile (I advise people only already famous to use real name. Don't feed the monster. They warehouse every view, click and like, and that's just the 3rd party sites.

    B) Developers etc restricted depending on what they pay.

    C) Where is Facebook's observance of the law?

    D) Who decides what Facebook collects and what they use it for.

    If you MUST put an F logo on YOUR site, only put a link to Facebook, not their script which could slurp user info of non-members even if not clicked.

  30. Pete4000uk

    Facebook can't be shut down

    If they are, how am I supposed to keep an eye on what ex friends or neighbours are up to?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      How am I supposed to keep an eye...

      Drones. Although that might be a little creepier than FB.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: How am I supposed to keep an eye...

        For the neighbours, you can drill into their walls and install cameras while they're out.

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That long-awaited Mark Zuckerberg response

    well, what did you expect? A confession? Metoo t-shirt? I bet they spent the last 2 - 4 days (and a good chunk of money) to consult the best (and priciest) PR businesses in the world to suggest the best response in this...situation. Yes, I'd like to see fb crumble and humanity take to twitter to comment, but, reality check....

  32. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

    Translation:

    But we also made mistakes, there's more to do, and we need to step up and do it

    "We got caught. We won't make that mistake (getting caught) again"

  33. JohnFen

    Zuck's response was insulting

    He's trying to make it sound like the problem is outside developers, and poor Facebook is working to defend its users against them. That's an insulting lie. The problem, and threat to Facebook's users, is Facebook itself.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: Zuck's response was insulting

      No, Facebook is more a symptom of the problem. Remember there was MySpace before Facebook. The problem is people, period. Here's an article that posits this.

  34. Florida1920

    Psychopath

    Given that Facebook was started on the premise that it was okay to exploit the personal lives of his "friends," none of this is surprising. Facebook is a sad reflection of our times and our human weaknesses. Zuck's had his moment Now it's time for him and his monster to slink away like other failed web ventures.

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It can NEVER be fixed

    All that data that's out there is out there forever. Facebook has no way of knowing who has copies, and has no way of knowing those copies were deleted. They have no way of knowing who else illicitly took data collected from apps and gave/sold it on for commercial use.

    It is a safe bet that up to 90% of Facebook users (i.e. those who were on it prior to the time when they stopped allowing apps to gather data on friends, and hadn't gone through all the deep dark corners of menus to turn on all the privacy settings they could) have been hoovered up and are stored in one or more databases somewhere in the world.

    Once they have that data, Facebook policy changes or user level privacy changes don't matter. It isn't like spam where you can decide you have had enough and change your email address and leave all the old spam behind.

    It is safe to assume the RNC and its partners kept a copy of this data, and probably sought out other sources of similar data to increase the size of their collection. It is also safe to assume that if the DNC and their partners didn't get this sort of data for the last election, they are quickly trying to remedy that situation today in time for the fall election.

    You can't stuff the genie back in the bottle, the only way it will ever be behind us is for everyone to abandon Facebook like they abandoned Myspace - but for that to happen there will have to be somewhere new for them to go (after all, Myspace wouldn't have been abandoned if it wasn't for Facebook) No doubt this replacement will want to make more money and end up making the same mistakes, unless some rich billionaire who feels bad about the harm he's caused the world (hey Zuck, you listening?) starts one as a non-profit that doesn't take ads and maintains strict privacy controls.

    1. Charles 9

      Re: It can NEVER be fixed

      "...unless some rich billionaire who feels bad about the harm he's caused the world (hey Zuck, you listening?) starts one as a non-profit that doesn't take ads and maintains strict privacy controls."

      Except even non-profits tend to solicit donations. I doubt even the richest man on Earth would be able to keep something as big as Facebook running for more than a year.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: It can NEVER be fixed

        Last year their total expenses were $5.6 billion. A lot of that would go away if they had no revenue and sought no revenue, so I imagine if Zuckerberg's net worth of $67 billion (or $66 billion, the man's gotta eat) endowed a non profit Facebook it could be run indefinitely.

  36. Danny 2

    SPECTRE! Double doh heaven

    I was going to request an icon of a man stroking a pussy, but I suppose that would be misused.

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/22/facebook-gave-data-about-57bn-friendships-to-academic-aleksandr-kogan

    [Facebook] provided him with an anonymised, aggregate dataset of 57bn Facebook friendships...

    Kogan was publishing under the name Aleksandr Spectre at the time. A University of Cambridge press release on the study’s publication noted that the paper was “the first output of ongoing research collaborations between Spectre’s lab in Cambridge and Facebook”.

  37. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Graph! Just say it Dammit! It is the Facebook Graph API!

    Facebook is STILL dancing around the subject!

    "Zuckerberg is referring to changes to Facebook's developer platform policies made four years ago. In 2014, the mass surveillance biz announced the planned shutdown of an API that allowed developers to gather data about the friends of people using their apps."

    The Facebook Graph API is everywhere, in a TON of apps! Especially any "antivirus/cleaner" type apps.

    Every app developer was jumping on this bandwagon, it wasn't just some obscure "personality test" app.

    The amount of user social media data that has been hoovered is FAR beyond the 50M being reported.

    This already stinks to high heaven of a coverup!

  38. The Central Scrutinizer

    Finger poised over the "delete account" button. Only took me half an hour to find it. FB makes it incredibly difficult to even find, let alone manage privacy settings properly. It's obfuscation elevated to high art.

    #fuckyouzuck

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