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FACEBOOK WILL LIKELY need “a few years” to fix the problems uncovered by the revelations on the hijacking of private user data, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said.
Speaking to the news site Vox, Zuckerberg defended the company’s business model and shot back at criticism of the social networking giant from Apple CEO Tim Cook last week.
Zuckerberg maintained that one of Facebook’s problems was that it was “idealistic,” focusing on the positive aspects of connecting people and that “we didn’t spend enough time investing in, or thinking through, some of the downside uses of the tools.”
“I think now people are appropriately focused on some of the risks and downsides as well,” he said.
I think we will dig through this hole, but it will take a few years. I wish I could solve all these issues in three months or six months, but I just think the reality is that solving some of these questions is just going to take a longer period of time.
‘Extremely glib’
Zuckerberg also fired back at comments last week from Cook, who argued that Facebook got into trouble because of a business model focused on monetising people’s data.
“I find that argument — that if you’re not paying that somehow we can’t care about you, to be extremely glib. And not at all aligned with the truth,” he said.
“The reality here is that if you want to build a service that helps connect everyone in the world, then there are a lot of people who can’t afford to pay. And therefore, as with a lot of media, having an advertising-supported model is the only rational model.”
The interview was the latest by the Facebook chief aimed at blunting the impact of a scandal over the harvesting of personal data on 50 million users by a political firm linked to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic have launched investigations into the mishandling of user data and have been seeking Zuckerberg’s testimony.
- © AFP 2018.
Read: Zuckerberg says no: Facebook CEO turns down request to appear before British MPs>
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Or it’s CEOs need to get their morals, values and priorities stright maybe!!
@Jack Jackson: Everyone knew what they were signing up for. You get what you deserve when you use a FREE service like that.
@Scorpionvenomm: Still doesn’t excuse their behaviour!
@Scorpionvenomm: when a service is free, you are the product.
I do find much of media criticism of Facebook, a Golden Goose of revenue stream, rather hypocritical to be honest. Online publications force commentators to subscribe through Facebook or Twitter. Many modern journalists whose concept of ‘research’ is ‘whatever’s trending currently’ would quickly find themselves down the job centre without the assistance of social media.
If Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are a genuine threat to democracy then why is western media so eager to facilitate his globalist expansion model?
Bit like arguing ‘Guns are dangerous’ – no entry without a gun’
I’m just gonna leave my personal diary here in the street, I trust that no one will read it.
@Eyepopper: aah lads, Facebook data retention is nothing compared to what Google knows about you.
The Facebook concept is based on abolishing data privacy and enabling personal data to be exploited.
Fixing the problem will not involve protection of personal data privacy. It will involve more effective and sophisticated methods of data extraction and its use to enable consumer manipulation and public opinion manipulation.
Facebook is the means of the hive mind.
There are methods of protecting yourself on Facebook. They are not sophisticated and easy to implement. It is not just security settings which don’t limit access by Facebook itself.
Of course, Google has vastly more data than Facebook.
What the State has on us is modest by comparison.
Time to sue .. won’t he long fixing it
@James Reilly: A decent class action is the only to solve this.
Oh cos apple aren’t monetising people’s data. Most companies are making or trying to.make money from people’s data. And considering how much Zuckerberg is worth if he threw a couple of billion at the problem I’d say it would get solved. Problem is how does facebook make money then.
@ed w:
Actually Apple don’t as a point of principle and difference to google and facebook.
Who Apple sees as cynically harvesting peoples data for profit, and for motives that are not ethical, including sharing with the NSA.
All Apple products are fully encrypted that they cannot break – and data isn’t sold to advertisers / anyone – to protect peoples privacy – even latest gen browsers have anti tracking built in
@HelloGoogleTracking: true but the only real reason for all that is because Apple have successfully a profitable business model selling physical products like iPod iPhone and iMac etc , Facebook doesnt sell physical products and monetize user data for to build their profitable model ( ditto Google) – so it makes sense for Apple to take a high moral ground on ‘privacy issues’ because it doesn’t effect their value – Facebook have a much tougher nut to crack because data is their lifeblood.
‘A few years’ is just not sustainable. If sharing data is the premise of your business model you’d better be damn quick at protecting that data
So there’s a nice big GDPR fine heading their way I would guess on may 26th!
It only takes a few minutes to delete your account.
@Denis Crowley: I’ve been told that it isn’t, that you may think you’ve deleted it, but the information is still retained and you can activate it up to five years (?) after you’ve ‘deleted’ it.
@Father Hody Commody: Ok. it’s 90 days to fully delete an account. why?
Facebook won’t be round in a few years!
It’s not compulsory and it’s not important
Excuses excuses…… laziness more like it.
It’s not that a lot of people can’t afford to pay, its that most people would not pay because what exactly would you get if you paid for it? It’s a nothing ‘product’ that serves no real value to anyone.
He knows Facebook is the biggest con job of the internet age but refuses to admit it. It’s a total mind trick envented to suck in advertising money and fill his arse pocket. One day the curtain will fall and there he’ll be sitting on a swivel chair, feet and hands working vigorously pushing and pulling the various contraptions a la wizard of oz.
Also slightly beside the point there’ll also be a lonely mouse exercising on a squeaking wheel with a sign around its neck saying ‘will work for food’, a sleeping Jack Russel terrier with a savaged my little pony under its paw and a parrot repeatedly shouting ‘oh f*ck off Mark you tw*t’ while it takes a warm dump in his double de caffeinated half caff with a twist of lemon.
@J: Spot on. Facebook is a revenue stream. What I can’t understand is why people complain about this. When you sign on, you are agreeing to let the satisfaction of needs that have been created for you (do you really need to be ‘liked’, have followers, photograph your dinners, tell others everything about you as if it really mattered or they really care) put you in the role of just another consumer/data to be targetted. Where is the problem if you are OK with this? If you think becoming a piece of exploitable data is a fair exchange for the delights offered by Facebook then why get so upset?
Tim Cook taking aim at Mark Zuckerberg for monitising the socail network? Pot and Kettle. Apple bleeds dry any consumer willing to fork out the ridiculous prices they charge for their devices and then their platform has virtually no free content. Get a grip Tim you Muppet…
@Aidan Hoolahan:
Yes and Apple protect privacy and dont sell peoples data to third parties.
High quality, expensive state of the art products, with commitment to privacy – and high prices. Totally worth it…..if you care about these things…
Also almost perfect security history with malicious apps – against other platforms with every other app malicious….and no protections
@HelloGoogleTracking: please, Apple have had serious security concerns as recent as November around new versions of IOS on mac, and as for quality? Most Samsung mobile devices delivery much better performance and Lenovo leave them for dead in the laptop performance stakes. As for apps well if you’re silly enough to load 3rd party apps on android well then you deserve what you get but I’d take the free content all day over what Apple offer
End of Facebook, thank god
This is rubbish. The only data FB has on me is silly comments I make to friends, things I like and what I don’t. Political outlook yes, personal life and thoughts no.
Really they have created a smart profile of a semi one dimensional human who may contradict themselves on any given subject, who may clock things they have no real interest in.
Fab ads have a click through rate of about .00238%. If the profiles are so good why aren’t they higher?
Sandbergs brilliance has been to convince advertisers these avatars represent real peoples want and desires and to extract money on a pay per view basis rather than PPC.
Googles data may be very accurate however.
@Gerard Carthy:
Look up facebook cookies – and what they do – and how they work.
All your browsing history – location – age – likes – entire digital world – harvested…easily.
@Gerard Carthy: you think ? You really think the only info available to facebook is what you clicked a like for ?? Go to your facebook settings and click apps – see the list of apps that access data , access your friends lists , messenger access your mic on your phone , conversations you had can be tracked , so if you mention Las Vegas that can be used to more effectively target you with an ad ,it can record what you say , location permissions are given to apps like my taxi ( and many others) so they work , your location is tracked all the time , yep all the locations you had your phone with you , all the sms you sent , the content of those sms , who you message most frequently , or if for example you have used a dating app , or perhaps a gay dating app like Grindr , then it also knows your sexual preference – even if you never clicked a like – so with respect your understanding that ‘they only know a bit about what you clicked to like ‘ – is just way way way way off the reality .
@Gerard Carthy: the silly comments you make will be sold to various mental institutions and a bidding war will begin in the hope of bagging you first ! Lol !
Shameful Facebook Mark Zuckerberg Are useless cos said fix private Data could take years to done that will more hacker spread in Facebook
Meanwhile whilst raking your data. Ask me hole!!!!
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