For two years, Facebook has known that Cambridge Analytica gained unauthorized access to user data and used it in the 2016 election, but it only just now suspended the company along with several parties involved in the collection of that data. Many users are angry and worried, unsure about whether their data was compromised and used without their consent to target them, or other Facebook users, with political advertising.
Giants of the tech industry like Facebook, Google, and Twitter collect considerable amounts of sensitive user data and repackage it for sale to other companies, or allow companies to access user information via apps that hook into its products. While they maintain that users consent to this use of their data when they sign up, how many consumers really understand what that means? How many would consent if privacy policies on products and services discussed how their data might be used in plain, clear language that's easy to understand?
We're asking tech companies to step it up ethically and develop transparent, industry-wide policies to maintain the integrity of user privacy. These steps should include providing privacy policies in plain language to make it easy for users to know what they're consenting to; more strictly controlling what data is collected and how it is used; auditing companies that collect data to confirm they're using it appropriately; and moving quickly to penalize and revoke access in cases where companies are violating privacy standards.
For many, using sites like Facebook isn't optional at this point: They need it for professional networking, keeping up with events in their community, news, and much more. So long as the tech industry isn't regulated like a utility, it's going to have to regulate itself, and it's time for the industry to take its responsibility to users more seriously.
Photo: Brian Solis
