Facebook under renewed scrutiny over privacy violations and data sharing

For years, Facebook exempted many tech companies from its standard privacy rules without informing users, the New York Times (NYT) reports. The exemptions allowed certain third-parties “to read, write and delete users’ private messages, and to see all participants on a thread.” Facebook also allowed Apple to access contact numbers and calendar entries of users who had disabled all sharing options from their account. Furthermore, Facebook authorized Bing, Pandora, and Rotten Tomatoes to access users’ friends’ information, after stating that it had discontinued such practice in 2014.

The NYT reporting comes weeks after British lawmakers obtained internal Facebook communications that suggest Facebook traded “access to user data in exchange for advertising buys and other concessions, which would contradict Facebook’s long-standing claim that it doesn’t sell people’s information.”

These undisclosed data sharing practices renew calls for meaningful data privacy protections. Many critics are questioning the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) failure to monitor Facebook’s privacy violations. “We brought Facebook under the regulatory authority of the FTC  after a tremendous amount of work. The FTC has failed to act.” said Marc Rotenberg, head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

CWA is a member of Freedom From Facebook, a coalition demanding the FTC curb Facebook’s power. The coalition is urging regulators to spin off Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger into competing networks, require interoperability, and impose strong privacy rules that empower and protect users.

Links:

As Facebook raised a privacy wall, it carved an opening for tech giants (The New York Times, Dec. 18, 2018)

Facebook allegedly offered advertisers special access to users’ data and activities, according to documents released by British lawmakers (The Washington Post, Dec. 5, 2018)

Top Communications Union Joins Group Pushing for Facebook’s Breakup (Bloomberg, Jul. 9, 2018)

Freedom from Facebook files FTC complaint against Facebook (Speed Matters, Nov. 16, 2018)