Editorial

GOVERNMENTS WANTING TO USE OUR DATA FOR THEIR OWN ENDS, YOU SAY...

THIS TIME LAST month we lamented that Facebook was wielding the sort of power that only belies governments. In an ironic twist, now we can see that the social media site is also responsible for helping to dictate who’s actually in government. In 2016, marketing and analysis company Cambridge Analytica gained access to Facebook data from a staggering 50 million accounts through a paid-for personality quiz via an app. The quiz was only taken by a few hundred thousand people, but the friends list of these Facebook users was also accessed, along with their ‘likes’, public profile page, status updates and even some private messages. Based in the UK but with ties to the Republican political party in the US, Cambridge Analytica then used this data to help the Republicans target voters and steer Trump into power.

That’s the broad overview. Questions have obviously been raised, like ‘how did this happen?’ Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have been pretty quiet about the use of this data, and have said that if the app was used in this way then it’s a serious breach of its terms of use. The next is ‘how does this affect me?’ Cambridge Analytica has said that it holds no data on Australians despite it having an office here. Interestingly, English author and philosopher AC Grayling also noted that the Cambridge Analytica CEO visited Malcolm Turnbull, PM of Australia, in April 2017 ( tinyurl.

com/tla76-grayling). So what does this have to do with tech?

Well, everything. How you use your social media profile and what – and how – you give control of it to affects everyone on a day-to-day basis. Although I use Facebook every single day, I’m reluctant to link my profile to sites even if it would make logging in easier. It’s not a matter of paranoia. We’ve clearly seen that blindly ignoring the privacy statements and ‘read me’ documents, clicking ‘yes I accept’ without fully understanding what we’re agreeing to can lead to serious consequences.

I can see why it happens: because it’s easy, and it’s free. Actually, that last part’s not really true. Nothing’s ever free, and it turns out that while we’re not handing over any money, our data is the currency. Unlike regular currency though, the more that’s made doesn’t reduce its value, but instead increases it.

But, it is easy to do, this donation of data. I’ve done it myself, and after this latest round of leaks, I’m pledging to take more notice of where my data’s going, and who has it.

ALTHOUGH I USE FACEBOOK EVERY SINGLE DAY, I’M RELUCTANT TO LINK MY PROFILE TO SITES EVEN IF IT WOULD MAKE LOGGING IN EASIER. IT’S NOT A MATTER OF PARANOIA. WE’VE CLEARLY SEEN THAT BLINDLY IGNORING THE PRIVACY STATEMENTS AND ‘READ ME’ DOCUMENTS, CLICKING ‘YES I ACCEPT’ WITHOUT FULLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE’RE AGREEING TO CAN LEAD TO SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES.