Sometimes, companies don’t take the privacy of their services as seriously as they should, as evidenced by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Despite their popularity, these services have had several security and privacy issues over the years. Today, we want to look at some of these services' most notable privacy and security breaches.
Remember the big 2018 scandal in which a political consulting firm harvested the data of millions of Facebook users without asking for consent? They did so with the intent of influencing voter behavior, with the 2016 Presidential election and England’s departure from the European Union. The breach evidenced that some organizations could abuse Facebook’s data-sharing policies, and as a result, the company experienced massive criticism and severe losses of trust. This incident highlighted the need for more robust data protection measures.
Facebook has also been scrutinized for its questionable handling of user data. There are reports out there that suggest the platform stores passwords in plain text, potentially exposing users to attacks. Facebook also collects significant amounts of user data, such as location information and browsing history, which is usually considered a red flag for privacy. This data collection often takes place without user consent, which has led to Meta settling a class action lawsuit of over $700 million. Clearly, there is something wrong here.
Facebook as a platform has also suffered from cyberattacks. In 2018, the company stated that a breach had affected 50 million user accounts, all thanks to hackers exploiting a vulnerability in the platform’s code. Later, in 2019, over 500 million users had their information found on publicly accessible servers. Even later that year, 300 million had their information hacked and made accessible on the Dark Web. All of these breaches gave hackers access to account information, and even Facebook’s best efforts don’t appear to be enough to stop it. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission even went so far as to levy a $5 billion fine and assign new privacy restrictions for their products, showing just how dangerous this lack of security and privacy concern is.
The privacy policies of Facebook have also been targets of controversy in recent years, particularly the terms and conditions of use. They are lengthy and complex, leading users to have a misunderstanding (or no understanding at all) of how the company uses their data. The company has also made significant and sporadic changes to its privacy settings, confusing readers and leading to them sharing too much personal information. There is a severe lack of transparency and control for users, and Facebook has not done enough to address it.
Facebook has also played a role in disseminating misinformation and harmful content, which has raised concerns over how ethical and private the platform is. For example, the platform’s algorithms are well-known to stoke the flames of sensationalist and polarizing content. It does this to increase user engagement, and while it works like a charm in that regard, it’s terrible for society as a whole. This predatory behavior is also used in advertising to users, leading to manipulation and exploitation.
Meta’s social media products are under major scrutiny, so do your part to keep yourself safe with a plan of action. We’ll have one ready for you next week!
