By this point it is quite widely known that Facebook is not the most wholesome brand in the world of social media, and the downward spiral that the company has been facing can be partly attributed to the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which user data was used by a certain group to influence the elections that were happening in the United States at the time. However, it seems like this is just one example of how Facebook has been misusing user data, and that the actual extent of the misuse stretches far beyond this almost to the point where it would be shocking to a lot of users.
Back in 2012, Facebook attempted to go public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) which did not end up going all that well. Because of the fact that the IPO did not go well, Facebook scrambled to try and justify its business model and show investors that it had what it takes to succeed within the industry rather than crumbling to the enormous pressure that so many people were placing upon it on a regular basis all in all.
In order to justify its business model, what Facebook did was that it gave certain entities unrestricted access to user data as long as they advertised the platform. What Facebook was trying to do here was show that its platform was the sort of place where big companies could advertise freely and find a great deal of success with the ads that they were placing for the users of the platform in general. Amazon is one company that Facebook gave the aforementioned unrestricted especial access to, and the eCommerce giant used Facebook to market its Fire smartphone which was being released at the time.
Read next: Facebook's new Technology will be able to Scan your Photos and Sell the Appropriate Information to Advertisers!
Back in 2012, Facebook attempted to go public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) which did not end up going all that well. Because of the fact that the IPO did not go well, Facebook scrambled to try and justify its business model and show investors that it had what it takes to succeed within the industry rather than crumbling to the enormous pressure that so many people were placing upon it on a regular basis all in all.
In order to justify its business model, what Facebook did was that it gave certain entities unrestricted access to user data as long as they advertised the platform. What Facebook was trying to do here was show that its platform was the sort of place where big companies could advertise freely and find a great deal of success with the ads that they were placing for the users of the platform in general. Amazon is one company that Facebook gave the aforementioned unrestricted especial access to, and the eCommerce giant used Facebook to market its Fire smartphone which was being released at the time.
"Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg oversaw plans to consolidate the social network’s power and control competitors by treating its users’ data as a bargaining chip, while publicly proclaiming to be protecting that data, according to about 4,000 pages of leaked company documents largely spanning 2011 to 2015.", claimed a report by Olivia Solon and Cyrus Farivar.This is not the only way in which Facebook ended up using its user data unethically. According to the leaked documents by NBCnews that revealed the aforementioned misuse, Facebook also restricted access to its data to certain competitors as well such as a messaging app that Facebook felt was not going to allow it to grow to its full potential. This wanton misuse of user data indicated that Facebook is not a very trustworthy platform at all, and that a lot of users will be reconsidering their decision to stick with the platform for all these years.
Read next: Facebook's new Technology will be able to Scan your Photos and Sell the Appropriate Information to Advertisers!
