Facebook Users' Data

[Iya]

I think they knew most of the answers to the questions they were asking.

They were asking them for effect; so the rest of the world would know.

I don't think they did.

 

[MillauFr]

I'm a realist. Money has spoken louder than the People for a very long time. I actually do remain hopeful that we reach the point where our representatives of all stripes genuinely work for the good of the People as the ordinary course of doing business.

Agreed. Maybe I am too cynical but I view the whole episode as just a shake down of Zuckerberg and the rest of the tech community. I think the politicians are feeling they are not getting their fair share of the profits and this was just a shot across the bow. You can bet that Facebook will head off any regulations that negatively effects profits by upping their political "donations". They will follow the same play book that Wall St. used in 2007/2008 to head off any meaningful regulations.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I don't think they did.

I think they were looking for answers, too, sure. But even Zuckerberg wasn't aware of some of the things that were happening.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Oh, and I feel that many of the comments here this morning have been ageist.

 

[Iya]

I think they were looking for answers, too, sure. But even Zuckerberg wasn't aware of some of the things that were happening.

It was obvious from some of the questions they had NO clue how Facebook works or even the internet in general. Their lack of knowledge was apparent and honestly, embarrassing.

 

[MillauFr]

What I find most upsetting about the incident that happened was not that Zuckerberg and the rest of the Facebook staff was asleep at the switch or even that the Russians tried to influence the US Presidential Election.... NO I am still most upset that US voters are influenced so easily. When the populace are complete sheep and more interested in what happens on the bachelor or who wins the next football game, we are in serious trouble.

 

[LSUmiss]

What I find most upsetting about the incident that happened was not that Zuckerberg and the rest of the Facebook staff was asleep at the switch or even that the Russians tried to influence the US Presidential Election.... NO I am still most upset that US voters are influenced so easily. When the populace are complete sheep and more interested in what happens on the bachelor or who wins the next football game, we are in serious trouble.

Yep. I said that. The Russians are laughing at us.

 

[cabanafrau]

It was obvious from some of the questions they had NO clue how Facebook works or even the internet in general. Their lack of knowledge was apparent and honestly, embarrassing.

I haven't been able to follow the testimony in depth but the reality is most of the population doesn't know the details of how FB or the internet in general works. Automobiles have been in common usage for decades and most of us have a rather shallow understanding of how they work despite quite capably using and operating one.

It's a sobering thought to consider that any policies or regulations implemented could have long-ranging effects and consequences -- even if enacted with sincerely good intent at the core. Some folks in the tech industry may also have a genuine belief that their actions and intentions are overall of benefit to all or most, blind to some of the ramifications because they cannot see the forest for the trees. There is definitely going to be a learning curve while new ground is broken and new territories discovered in this arena. I hope it isn't punishingly steep and I definitely hope that the path is led by long-range thinkers with strong intelligence and ethics.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What I find most upsetting about the incident that happened was not that Zuckerberg and the rest of the Facebook staff was asleep at the switch or even that the Russians tried to influence the US Presidential Election.... NO I am still most upset that US voters are influenced so easily. When the populace are complete sheep and more interested in what happens on the bachelor or who wins the next football game, we are in serious trouble.

I don't think it's just US voters or just FB. There were a whole host of networks at play that helped influence some of the major events that have happened in the last several years or more worldwide.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I saw this posted on Instagram and its very interesting

 

[mom2rtk]

Oh, and I feel that many of the comments here this morning have been ageist.

Of course they were. And I agree that most knew the answers to the questions before they asked them. It's actually a very effective technique in that setting.

 

[cabanafrau]

I don't think it's just US voters or just FB. There were a whole host of networks at play that helped influence some of the major events that have happened in the last several years or more worldwide.

There have been murmurs about secret organizations shaping world events/world economics for hundreds of years. In that light this could potentially be viewed as either a new tool or a means of new hands trying to seize some measure of control.

 

[Cubbiecakes]

I think they knew most of the answers to the questions they were asking.

They were asking them for effect; so the rest of the world would know.

Sadly, I don't think this is true. Facebook, reality TV, and the Internets are convenient distractions for the poor people in the US so they won't eat the rich. They don't care what those things are unless they can make (a boatload of) money off of it.

Until, of course, they figure out that people can use it to unify and put these dolts out of office. Then they'll be sure to do something about it, and punish us for daring to take control of our lives (and our money).

 

[MillauFr]

Sadly, I don't think this is true. Facebook, reality TV, and the Internets are convenient distractions for the poor people in the US so they won't eat the rich.

God forbid that they actually blamed the rich and powerful when things went south.... So much easier to get people to blame the marginalized groups, teachers, poor people, public employees, welfare recipients, immigrants, etc....

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Email discussions are not private, really ever. If you want to keep discussions private, you need to have them in person. And you better unplug your Amazon Alexa or Google Home....and turn of your phone, smart tv,computer, and tablets.

Honestly, I find this stuff so creepy. Devices that are always listening... and I'd bet most people still don't know this.

I still firmly believe that ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING that involves someone giving up their privacy should be opt-in ONLY, and very transparent and easy to toggle.

It's ludicrous how complicated it can be to at least somewhat protect your privacy online... the rube golberg set of levers and pages to visit... bugs me.

I am usually a big "buyer beware", personal responsibility kind of person. But this stuff is designed to be deceptive and difficult to navigate. That's not right, IMO.

 

[GreatLakes]

Honestly, I find this stuff so creepy. Devices that are always listening... and I'd bet most people still don't know this.

I still firmly believe that ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING that involves someone giving up their privacy should be opt-in ONLY, and very transparent and easy to toggle.

It's ludicrous how complicated it can be to at least somewhat protect your privacy online... the rube golberg set of levers and pages to visit... bugs me.

I am usually a big "buyer beware", personal responsibility kind of person. But this stuff is designed to be deceptive and difficult to navigate. That's not right, IMO.

Just look at all the people that think Siri and Ok Google are these great things on the thread about that tragedy with the boy in Ohio. I have an Android phone but it is locked down pretty securely. Full disk encryption, auto-locking in 5 seconds, limited Google Assistant capabilities. I may not be able to yell at my phone to call the police but I'll take that risk as opposed to it listening to me at all times without any controls.

IoT devices in general are not very secure. I have a fully segregated network at home. Enterprise class managed switches with fully segregated vLANs and SSIDs that tunnel out to the Internet through those vLANs. I separate out my trusted devices and the IoT devices on the network using that managed infrastructure. People that have their smart lightbulbs or Amazon Echo on the same network with their PCs that log into high value websites are nuts in my opinion.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Just look at all the people that think Siri and Ok Google are these great things on the thread about that tragedy with the boy in Ohio. I have an Android phone but it is locked down pretty securely. Full disk encryption, auto-locking in 5 seconds, limited Google Assistant capabilities. I may not be able to yell at my phone to call the police but I'll take that risk as opposed to it listening to me at all times without any controls.

IoT devices in general are not very secure. I have a fully segregated network at home. Enterprise class managed switches with fully segregated vLANs and SSIDs that tunnel out to the Internet through those vLANs. I separate out my trusted devices and the IoT devices on the network using that managed infrastructure. People that have their smart lightbulbs or Amazon Echo on the same network with their PCs that log into high value websites are nuts in my opinion.

Agreed, but most people just don’t have this knowledge or wherewithal. Unreasonable to expect people to, and these companies (FB, Google, et al) capitalize on that and make it as difficult as possible to navigate.