Facebook in Crisis: Pressure on Mark Zuckerberg as Cambridge Analytica data scandal explodes
ANALYSIS: Whistleblower Christopher Wylie is at the centre of a “data breach” scandal that has sent shockwaves through Facebook, as Australian authorities investigate local ramifications.
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IS it time for Mark Zuckerberg to stop hiding behind his Facebook page?
Not since he created ‘The Facebook’ in a dorm room at Harvard University in 2004 has the platform been under such a cloud.
A whistleblower, by the name of Christopher Wylie, is at the centre of a “data breach” scandal that has sent shockwaves through the social media world.
The news has been toxic for Facebook.
We’ve so far seen angry reactions from politicians in the US and UK, warnings from academics, corporate watchdogs, Wall Street investment analysts and even a #DeleteFacebook movement trending on Twitter.
The story starts with now infamous data firm, Cambridge Analytica. The company has strong ties to former Trump political strategist Steve Bannon, along with numerous other intriguing alt-right figures in the US and UK.
Wylie alleges in an interview aired on British television and in articles published Sunday in The Guardian and New York Times, that Cambridge Analytica set up a system to acquire data on millions of Facebook users, starting in 2014.
In Canberra, authorities have also weighed in, with the Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner announcing, “inquiries with Facebook to ascertain weather any personal information of Australians was involved.”
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The data harvesting, as he calls it, took place with the use of an authorised Facebook app that prompted users to take a personality test.
Not only did users of the app give away much of their Facebook data and other personal data, they granted access to user profile data of many of their direct Facebook friend connections.
Shockingly, at the time, this was allowed under Facebook’s terms of use.
This resulted in Cambridge Analytica gaining access to user data of tens of millions of US users. This data was then, reportedly, blended with other 3rd party data to build one of the most powerful and potent user databases in history.
“You are playing with the psychology … of an entire country without their consent or awareness,” Wylie said in the interview.
“We are going to combine micro targeting … with new constructs from psychology -where we were not just targeting you as a voter — we were targeting you as a personality.”
“We could build a psychological profile of each voter in a particular region, or in this case, all the United States,” he said.
Cambridge University academic Alexander Kogan was the technical brain behind the operation.
Thousands of Facebook users downloaded an app called “thisisyourdigitallife”- promising users a personality prediction once they completed a series of questions.
This eventually allowed Kogan to download the user data of millions of people and share it with Wylie’s team at Cambridge Analytica for future use.
What came next is like a storyline from the hit US TV show, Homeland, or perhaps even Black Mirror.
Cambridge Analytica is now considered the dark weapon in the war chest of Donald Trump’s successful 2016 US Presidential campaign victory.
The company has also been linked to the successful Brexit ‘Yes’ campaign and possibly as far down the rabbit hole as Russian online efforts to disrupt the political discourse in western democracies. An allegation Cambridge Analytica denies.
Hours before the Wylie story hit the internet, the Facebook executive team worked to pre-empt the story.
In a late Friday night, Saturday morning Australia time post, Facebook announced Cambridge Analytica and associated businesses would be suspended from accessing its service.
“We are suspending Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), including their political data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica, from Facebook,” Paul Grweal, VP & Deputy General Counsel of Facebook wrote.
Facebook defended their position, claiming users who had had data harvested knowingly gave consent for the information to be taken.
“Everyone involved gave their consent. People knowingly provided their information,” Facebook said in a later update of the original release.
So, Facebook claims to be a victim in this scandal.
While they admit Dr Alexander Kogan was well within his rights to harvest the data of millions, it’s the exchange of data to a third party that was the issue.
This is where it gets murky.
Facebook says Alexander Kogan and Cambridge Analytica lied to them and breached their data policy, but only when it was passed between Kogan and the Cambridge Analytica team.
They also claim Kogan and Analytica did not destroy the data, despite telling Facebook they had done so.
“Although Kogan gained access to this information in a legitimate way and through the proper channels that governed all developers on Facebook at that time, he did not subsequently abide by our rules,” Facebook said.
“By passing information on to a third party, including SCL/Cambridge Analytica and Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, he violated our platform policies.”
“When we learned of this violation in 2015, we removed his app from Facebook and demanded certifications from Kogan and all parties he had given data to that the information had been destroyed. Cambridge Analytica, Kogan and Wylie all certified to us that they destroyed the data.”
The scandal, and growing political pressure places Facebook in a difficult position.
“This is a major breach that must be investigated,” Amy Klobuchar, a US Democratic Senator tweeted.
“It’s clear these platforms can’t police themselves. I’ve called for more transparency & accountability for online political ads. They say “trust us.” Mark Zuckerberg needs to testify before Senate Judiciary.”
Facebook breach: This is a major breach that must be investigated. It’s clear these platforms can’t police themselves. I've called for more transparency & accountability for online political ads. They say “trust us.†Mark Zuckerberg needs to testify before Senate Judiciary.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) March 17, 2018
Another US Senator, Democrat Mark Warner, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said it was time to regulate Facebook and other digital platforms.
“Whether it’s allowing Russians to purchase political ads, or extensive micro-targeting based on ill-gotten user data, it’s clear that, left unregulated, this market will continue to be prone to deception and lacking in transparency,” Warner wrote.
More evidence that the online political advertising market is essentially the Wild West. https://t.co/zWfkq4VncC
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) March 17, 2018
Meanwhile UK Parliamentarians also reacted, calling for Mark Zuckerberg to personally testify.
“It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to stop hiding behind his Facebook page,” UK Conservative Party member Damien Collins said.
“This also creates a false reassurance that Facebook’s stated policies are always robust and effectively policed,” said Collins.
Facebook could now be facing immanent government regulatory action, or even potentially a break up; as US and European politicians grapple with the possibility Facebook has indeed been weaponised — possibly by the Russian government — along with political partisans in the US, UK and EU.
Here in Australia, this saga is certain to be part of the ACCC’s inquiry into the digital platforms.
If Facebook does face severe regulations, it could cripple Facebook’s lucrative ad funded business model.
In a Wall Street note late Sunday, analysts from Pivotal warned investors of new risks to Facebook’s stock.
“We think this episode is another indication of systemic problems at Facebook,”
“Regulatory risks will intensify; enhanced use of data in advertising is at greater risk thank before; Third party measurement partners may face more restrictions frustrating advertisers,’ the note from Brian Wieser said.
Mark Zuckerberg faces possibly his biggest challenge yet.
So far the billionaire has not faced politicians or the media directly to discuss the scandal.
However, calls are mounting for Zuck to step up to the plate.
Facebook has undoubtedly built the most powerful and innovative advertising platform the world has ever seen. That success, it appears, is now becoming its greatest liability.
A once seemingly unstoppable social media network now faces an hour of reckoning.
Originally published as Facebook in Crisis: Pressure on Mark Zuckerberg as Cambridge Analytica data scandal explodes
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