Facebook paid people to allow their internet usage to be seen. Bad? (1 Viewer)

[Joe Bryant]

I'm not sure I get the outrage here. https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/

The people willingly gave permission and were paid, right?

Can you guys shed light?

 

[heckmanm]

Looks like Apple may have a legit beef.  Not a lot of sympathy for the end users who volunteered for it if they're PO'd.

 

[nightmare]

I voted undecided. After thinking a little more, this is bad. Facebook has enough influence.
It doesn't need more.

 

[jonessed]

It seems clear that Facebook broke their contract with Apple.  I don’t see why opinions of the end users matter.

 

[rockaction]

Certain privacy rights should be inalienable, much like the Declaration of Independence said about others. Like jonessed alluded to, albeit contractually whereas mine is more in spirit, the end users don't matter, even with consent.  

 

[shadyridr]

Sounds like the beef is between them and Apple

 

[mr. furley]

people's shopping habits have been studied, analyzed, broken down for..... decades? generations?

we have computers to do it more quickly and... now we're up in arms?

banks have been doing it forever. your grocery store has been doing it. your bartender has been doing it. tv does it. are people mad when Rita at the diner plops a cup of coffee down on the table before they sit down? or does it take her having the cook start your order before you open the menu? having your slice of pie cued up for 2 minutes after the meal is done but not a moment sooner?



it's 2019, everything people do is readily available for analyzing whether you believe it or not. of course Facebook is evil... i read about it on..... Facebook.

 

[jonessed]

people's shopping habits have been studied, analyzed, broken down for..... decades? generations?

we have computers to do it more quickly and... now we're up in arms?

banks have been doing it forever. your grocery store has been doing it. your bartender has been doing it. tv does it. are people mad when Rita at the diner plops a cup of coffee down on the table before they sit down? or does it take her having the cook start your order before you open the menu? having your slice of pie cued up for 2 minutes after the meal is done but not a moment sooner?



it's 2019, everything people do is readily available for analyzing whether you believe it or not. of course Facebook is evil... i read about it on..... Facebook.

Facebook had access to more than just shopping habits.  This app gave them access to things like text messages.  I can see why Apple would want to prevent that and why it was in the contract.

Facebook knew what they were doing.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Paying minors without parental consent (or maybe even at all) seems wrong.  If adults want to do this, I don't think I care.

 

[mr. furley]

Facebook had access to more than just shopping habits.  This app gave them access to things like text messages.  I can see why Apple would want to prevent that and why it was in the contract.

Facebook knew what they were doing.

i guess my point is, it's 2019.  thinking that any of your personal information is somehow secured is a fantasy.

everything we do, our habits, our financial information, etc. is available to corporations or individuals who pay the right amount of money.  this is American capitalism. everything is available for a price.

 

[rockaction]

i guess my point is, it's 2019.  thinking that any of your personal information is somehow secured is a fantasy.

everything we do, our habits, our financial information, etc. is available to corporations or individuals who pay the right amount of money.  this is American capitalism. everything is available for a price.

I think the problem is that, much like government has access to pen registries, this is a corporation getting information in a way in which they can leverage it for their benefit. It's different than criminal law and registries, it's corporate, which in theory, I should be in favor of, but in practice am not. Like I mentioned before, certain rights are inalienable, meaning they can't be given away voluntarily. I would say that stuff like this  -- pen registries of online data and actual conversations -- rises to that level.  

What about the third parties in the text conversations or the online surfing? What if they don't consent?  

 

[Joe Bryant]

Paying minors without parental consent (or maybe even at all) seems wrong.  If adults want to do this, I don't think I care.

I could be wrong, but I read somewhere they were super clear to obtain parental consent for any of the people that were not adults.

I guess what I'm seeing is everything was above board with the people they contracted with. They made an offer - let us see everything you do on your phones and we'll pay you for the data. It's my understanding that's what they did. 

As long as both sides were clear in what was going to happen and payment was made, and the activity itself isn't illegal, I don't know that it seems too awful. Or even noteworthy. 

But I realize lots of people do so I asked. 

 

[nightmare]

I could be wrong, but I read somewhere they were super clear to obtain parental consent for any of the people that were not adults.

I guess what I'm seeing is everything was above board with the people they contracted with. They made an offer - let us see everything you do on your phones and we'll pay you for the data. It's my understanding that's what they did. 

As long as both sides were clear in what was going to happen and payment was made, and the activity itself isn't illegal, I don't know that it seems too awful. Or even noteworthy. 

But I realize lots of people do so I asked. 

Facebook is paying people to collect data- they've going to do something with this. My guess is use it for profit.
Most people would say "good for them" without a second thought that it some how ends up being bad for us.
The data we generate is being bought and sold so business's can market their wares better. Suppose in the next
election pollsters paid Facebook for this data-still no big deal? 

Instead of selling more products Facebook used it to sell ideas or candidates or allowed a third party to do this.
Say the U.S gov't for example. DNC, RNC, DOD. Do you trust Facebook to make who they sell to public? And would
you believe them? 

 

[Joe Bryant]

Facebook is paying people to collect data- they've going to do something with this. My guess is use it for profit.
Most people would say "good for them" without a second thought that it some how ends up being bad for us.
The data we generate is being bought and sold so business's can market their wares better. Suppose in the next
election pollsters paid Facebook for this data-still no big deal? 

Instead of selling more products Facebook used it to sell ideas or candidates or allowed a third party to do this.
Say the U.S gov't for example. DNC, RNC, DOD. Do you trust Facebook to make who they sell to public? And would
you believe them? 

What data are you talking about?

The data the users agreed to allow Facebook to access?

Or data that regular users of Facebook generate?

The second is a completely different discussion I think. I'm talking about the people who agreed to give Facebook access to all their internet usage in exchange for money. 

 

[nightmare]

What data are you talking about?

The data the users agreed to allow Facebook to access?

Or data that regular users of Facebook generate?

The second is a completely different discussion I think. I'm talking about the people who agreed to give Facebook access to all their internet usage in exchange for money. 

The internet usage they allowed Facebook to access. Sorry for the confusion as I would consider
that data. 

 

[AAABatteries]

Ignoring the Apple aspect of this I'm not too keen on teenagers agreeing to this - they are typically stupid and don't understand what they are agreeing to.  If an adult wants to sign up for it, I'm all for it.