FarmVille (and Zynga) Set The Stage For Cambridge Analytical

[smock]

No, not farmvillelover.

Slate argues that FarmVille, along with other Zynga games, "set the stage" for Cambridge Analytica by priming people to give their data to third-party apps. The article also points the finger at Candy Crush. It's an interesting argument about why data sharing seemed harmless to many Facebook users. 

slate.com/technology/2018/03/farmville-helped-sow-the-seeds-of-the-cambridge-analytica-scandal.html

I'm not the only one who checked my Facebook account to see which apps I share info with and found a bunch of games, like CafeWorld and HayDay, right? 

[2curlydogs]

I review all of my FB info, like, quarterly. Because I'm fucking paranoid.

[shauni27]

I am embarrassed by the number of pointless quizzes I take.

[pixy0stix]

I went through and deleted a bunch of crap that had access to fb. However, I draw the line at deleting my games. Apparently I'm fine with them data mining me that way.

[WanderingWinoZ]

also, if you want to download your entire FB file.
www.facebook.com/help/302796099745838


money.cnn.com/2018/03/24/technology/facebook-data/index.html

After downloading my stored data on the site — I've been a member since 2004 — I was presented with an enormous amount of personal details that have been collected about me over the years.

It had the phone number of my late grandmother who never had a Facebook account, or even an email address. It preserved the conversations I had with an ex-- someone with whom I thought I had deleted my digital ties. It even recalled times I was "poked," a feature I had forgotten about. I also learned that Kate Spade New York and MetLife have me on their advertiser lists.

Staring at the data was not only creepy but it drudged up painful memories.

[smock]

I'm absolutely doing that now, WanderingWinoZ. I'm really curious how much info Facebook has picked up about me, because I have been pretty cautious about entering information.

[WanderingWinoZ]

i'm too scared to look....

i tried doing the one a while back where you downloaded all your amazon history & it always timed out/crashed....been shopping there too much for too long!

[raangoli]

Mar 26, 2018 13:45:59 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

I review all of my FB info, like, quarterly. Because I'm fucking paranoid.

Same. But I am sure it still has a ridiculous amount of information about me.

[winecat]

I have no idea where/when I gave access to most of the apps that had access to my account. I disabled all but Instagram. I also activated "Platform" which according to FB "You have turned platform off. This means you can't use the Facebook integrations on third party apps or websites. If you want to use these apps and websites with Facebook, turn Platform back on.
Turning Platform back on resets related settings (such as your "Apps others use" setting) and allows Facebook to receive information about your use of third party apps and websites.)"

[eddy]

Mar 26, 2018 13:59:11 GMT -5 WanderingWinoZ said:

also, if you want to download your entire FB file.
www.facebook.com/help/302796099745838


money.cnn.com/2018/03/24/technology/facebook-data/index.html

After downloading my stored data on the site — I've been a member since 2004 — I was presented with an enormous amount of personal details that have been collected about me over the years.

It had the phone number of my late grandmother who never had a Facebook account, or even an email address. It preserved the conversations I had with an ex-- someone with whom I thought I had deleted my digital ties. It even recalled times I was "poked," a feature I had forgotten about. I also learned that Kate Spade New York and MetLife have me on their advertiser lists.

Staring at the data was not only creepy but it drudged up painful memories.

I lost conversations I had with my mom over FB messenger and thought the were gone forever since she is dead. Looks like i can get them back this way? Hey taking my data isn’t all bad lol.

[jezebel]

I downloaded my data, read it, and deactivated my FB account (after deleting all apps and access to contacts and everything). The amount I’m giving up for what I get (nothing) isn’t worth it.

[allabtthat]

Mar 26, 2018 13:45:59 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

I review all of my FB info, like, quarterly. Because I'm fucking paranoid.

I was actually surprised I only had 8 apps that I had allowed access. I’m down to 3. Target, Amazon, & IG.

[Linie]

I put very limited information about me on FB as I have always been very wary of sending info into the web (I'm a data protection specialist).

It was obvious to me that FB has always done data mining, but I'm really angry about MZ's so-called "apologies". I'm considering deleting my profile.

[penguingrrl]

How do I check what apps might have access to my info? I only use fb on safari on my phone, not the app, and don’t otherwise download apps generally...

[bex]

I just re-downloaded Candy Crush, soda saga etc last night and re-linked them to my FB bc I was bored lol. Whoops. Back to deleting them....

[Linie]

Mar 27, 2018 6:51:12 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

How do I check what apps might have access to my info? I only use fb on safari on my phone, not the app, and don’t otherwise download apps generally...

Go to settings on facebook and then "apps": you will get a screen with the apps' logos and you can choose to delete them (one by one)

[penguingrrl]

Mar 27, 2018 7:02:48 GMT -5 Linie said:

Mar 27, 2018 6:51:12 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

How do I check what apps might have access to my info? I only use fb on safari on my phone, not the app, and don’t otherwise download apps generally...

Go to settings on facebook and then "apps": you will get a screen with the apps' logos and you can choose to delete them (one by one)

Thank you!

[Bernadine]

I could delete my personal Facebook, but so many of the grassroots groups I'm in use Facebook to organize. I can't step away.

[kershnic]

It was interesting to re-read this article from January 2017 in light of the big news this week.... but it kind of makes me wonder why so much of this is pretending to be new news 15 months later.
motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/mg9vvn/how-our-likes-helped-trump-win

[scribellesam]

Wow about 20 super random apps had my info from years and years back. So creepy. Thanks for the tip on how to delete!

[blt08]

Mar 27, 2018 8:49:42 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

I could delete my personal Facebook, but so many of the grassroots groups I'm in use Facebook to organize. I can't step away.

Same. 

[ESF]

Mar 27, 2018 8:49:42 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

I could delete my personal Facebook, but so many of the grassroots groups I'm in use Facebook to organize. I can't step away.

I've seen some talk on Twitter about this. Especially about how important Facebook is in other countries where organizing and communicating is much harder or even more dangerous.

I've also seen some talk on Twitter about how much time small business owners, artists, writers, etc have spent developing a customer base and/or audience, and how vital the platform is to their success.

Even in our own country, Facebook provides a useful platform for organizing and for civil rights. let's not forget how vital Facebook, especially Facebook Live, has been in getting out videos of police shootings out and helping to raise awareness of that issue.

I am really angry at Facebook. I hate Zuckerberg, and I think not only is he at fault here, but he made this problem worse. But I'm also not at the "BURN IT DOWN" stage. Some politician, and now I can't remember who, was on some TV show last week and basically said, "I like facebook. People like Facebook. We should all want it to succeed." And that's where I am. When it's not stealing data and spreading fake news, it's a good platform and service. Many of the smartest people in the world are vested in its success. I feel confident that there is a solution. Whether Facebook will actually adopt that solution remains to be seen, and I highly doubt Zuckerberg will step down even though he should. But I'm in a wait-and-see mode right now.

[isabel]

I had a bunch of old junk on mine, but there was one that was specifically related to Trump. So that's super weird and creepy. I'm certain I never voluntarily gave access to an app like that.

[Linie]

Mar 27, 2018 10:19:06 GMT -5 ESF said:

Mar 27, 2018 8:49:42 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

I could delete my personal Facebook, but so many of the grassroots groups I'm in use Facebook to organize. I can't step away.

I've seen some talk on Twitter about this. Especially about how important Facebook is in other countries where organizing and communicating is much harder or even more dangerous.

I've also seen some talk on Twitter about how much time small business owners, artists, writers, etc have spent developing a customer base and/or audience, and how vital the platform is to their success.

Even in our own country, Facebook provides a useful platform for organizing and for civil rights. let's not forget how vital Facebook, especially Facebook Live, has been in getting out videos of police shootings out and helping to raise awareness of that issue.

I am really angry at Facebook. I hate Zuckerberg, and I think not only is he at fault here, but he made this problem worse. But I'm also not at the "BURN IT DOWN" stage. Some politician, and now I can't remember who, was on some TV show last week and basically said, "I like facebook. People like Facebook. We should all want it to succeed." And that's where I am. When it's not stealing data and spreading fake news, it's a good platform and service. Many of the smartest people in the world are vested in its success. I feel confident that there is a solution. Whether Facebook will actually adopt that solution remains to be seen, and I highly doubt Zuckerberg will step down even though he should. But I'm in a wait-and-see mode right now.

The biggest problem is not really FB as a communication platform, the danger lies in the data mining: selling information to third parties for all sorts of reasons and also in the fact that there is no control on the "fake" FB profiles (the computers registering for 1000s profiles just to increase statistics).

FB only knows what people share. If you make your profile private and well protected and you do not give out too much personal info, the risks are much lower.

My main issue is that FB did (of course) not communicate what they did with data and set up the whole system so that your data was going to spread around like wildfire.

FB pretended to care for personal data - quod non - and people felt "safe"...

[ESF]

Mar 27, 2018 10:48:02 GMT -5 Linie said:

Mar 27, 2018 10:19:06 GMT -5 ESF said:

I've seen some talk on Twitter about this. Especially about how important Facebook is in other countries where organizing and communicating is much harder or even more dangerous.

I've also seen some talk on Twitter about how much time small business owners, artists, writers, etc have spent developing a customer base and/or audience, and how vital the platform is to their success.

Even in our own country, Facebook provides a useful platform for organizing and for civil rights. let's not forget how vital Facebook, especially Facebook Live, has been in getting out videos of police shootings out and helping to raise awareness of that issue.

I am really angry at Facebook. I hate Zuckerberg, and I think not only is he at fault here, but he made this problem worse. But I'm also not at the "BURN IT DOWN" stage. Some politician, and now I can't remember who, was on some TV show last week and basically said, "I like facebook. People like Facebook. We should all want it to succeed." And that's where I am. When it's not stealing data and spreading fake news, it's a good platform and service. Many of the smartest people in the world are vested in its success. I feel confident that there is a solution. Whether Facebook will actually adopt that solution remains to be seen, and I highly doubt Zuckerberg will step down even though he should. But I'm in a wait-and-see mode right now.

The biggest problem is not really FB as a communication platform, the danger lies in the data mining: selling information to third parties for all sorts of reasons and also in the fact that there is no control on the "fake" FB profiles (the computers registering for 1000s profiles just to increase statistics).

FB only knows what people share. If you make your profile private and well protected and you do not give out too much personal info, the risks are much lower.

My main issue is that FB did (of course) not communicate what they did with data and set up the whole system so that your data was going to spread around like wildfire.

FB pretended to care for personal data - quod non - and people felt "safe"...

I understand and agree with all of this. My point was not to excuse what Facebook was doing or pretend there are no privacy violations. My point was that even despite those things, I am not at the point where I think everyone in the world should shut Facebook off and the company should be left to go bankrupt.

[Linie]

Mar 27, 2018 10:54:47 GMT -5 ESF said:

Mar 27, 2018 10:48:02 GMT -5 Linie said:

The biggest problem is not really FB as a communication platform, the danger lies in the data mining: selling information to third parties for all sorts of reasons and also in the fact that there is no control on the "fake" FB profiles (the computers registering for 1000s profiles just to increase statistics).

FB only knows what people share. If you make your profile private and well protected and you do not give out too much personal info, the risks are much lower.

My main issue is that FB did (of course) not communicate what they did with data and set up the whole system so that your data was going to spread around like wildfire.

FB pretended to care for personal data - quod non - and people felt "safe"...

I understand and agree with all of this. My point was not to excuse what Facebook was doing or pretend there are no privacy violations. My point was that even despite those things, I am not at the point where I think everyone in the world should shut Facebook off and the company should be left to go bankrupt.

I didn't think you were trying to excuse them. I agree that it should not disappear, but that the way data is being used should be made transparent!

Europe has put this principle into new law with very hefty penalties and the law will come into force in May this year. I'm waiting to see what FB will do for its European members.

[kershnic]

This problem is so complicated though... like vaccination, it doesn't really matter that much if in individuals are careful with keeping their information private or share their information freely. What matters is if there's hundreds of thousands of other people who don't limit data sharing. Or if the platform is designed in such a way that this data can't be manipulated..... but most of what most of us share in social media feels pretty innocuous, and is innocuous by itself. How do you even go about regulating microtargeting people based on psychometric data profiles? Is this just the new future we have to figure out how to work with?

I want to know if Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives knew how powerful this data could be.