Facebook data leak scandal has left Zuckerberg isolated in tech
Facebook Inc. chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has found himself with few defenders in the technology industry.
Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk and Salesforce.com Inc.’s Marc Benioff have criticised the social media network in the wake of its user data scandal involving politicaladvertising firm Cambridge Analytica. Other tech leaders have remained quiet in the ensuing backlash against Facebook, in contrast to Silicon Valley’s usual practice of rallying around its own during major crises.
Facebook has sought to repair its public image and trust with more than 2 billion users after reports surfaced that Cambridge Analytica obtained data on as many 50 million of those US accounts.
As Zuckerberg, 33, faces calls to testify before Congress and lawmakers raise the idea of new regulations on tech, his peers have either stayed quiet or publicly criticised his company. In times of crisis, tech companies have sometimes huddled together to defend the industry, such as when Apple fought the FBI to protect an encrypted iPhone and during President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration ban last year against mostly Muslim countries.
“Protecting privacy is good for business now,” said Gennie Gebhart, a researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization that advocates for digital privacy. “Users are looking for other big tech personali- ties like Tim Cook, like Elon Musk, to be reassured that they’re not doing what Facebook did.”
When Apple was fighting an FBI attempt to get into an encrypted iPhone, Facebook joined Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp. and other large tech firms to support Cook’s stance. Still, Apple executives, including Steve Jobs, have criticized internet companies’ advertising business models in the past.
Cook was asked about Facebook’s privacy crisis last month and called for stronger regulation of user data. Then, in an interview with Recode and MSNBC, Cook said he “wouldn’t be in this situation” if he were in Zuckerberg’s shoes. While Facebook makes money selling targeted advertisements based on user data, Apple’s profit comes from hardware products like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
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