Opinion | Facebook Is Not the Problem. Lax Privacy Rules Are. - The New York Times
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/01/opinion/facebook-lax-privacy-rules.html
As recently as 2010, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and chief executive of Facebook, believed that privacy was no longer a “social norm.” But over the past few weeks — and not a moment too soon — he and his colleagues have learned that privacy still matters to individuals and society.
what we have learned about the data collection practices of social media firms, advertisers, political campaigns, online publishers and other groups suggests that company-specific changes like Facebook’s will be insufficient. What is needed is for Congress to adopt rigorous and comprehensive privacy laws.
The technology and advertising industries have long resisted such rules, and neither this Congress nor the Trump administration has shown any interest in privacy. But someday new politicians will be in charge, and now is as good a time as any to begin a serious examination of how American privacy regulations can be strengthened.
Today, it is standard procedure for many companies to vacuum up as much data as they can by getting users to agree to long, impenetrable terms of service. Companies might not even know how they will use the information being collected but collect it anyway, in case they later develop a specific use for it. Recently, some Facebook users discovered that the company’s Android app had been logging metadata from every incoming and outgoing phone call and text message, in some cases for years. The company said that users had consented to sharing this information and that doing so “helps you find and stay connected with the people you care about, and provides you with a better experience across Facebook.” That statement is positively Orwellian. It’s hard to believe that many people would have given the company access to so much personal data if they actually understood what they were agreeing to.
But it is increasingly clear that businesses will figure out how to live with and make money under tougher privacy rules. Some companies are also planning to apply some or all of the data protection requirements to all of their customers, not just Europeans. And other countries have or are considering adopting similar rules. Throughout history, meatpackers, credit card companies, automakers and other businesses resisted regulations, arguing they would be ruined by them. Yet, regulations have actually benefited many industries by boosting demand for products that consumers know meet certain standards.