Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, and other evil corporations


Netflix's 'The Great Hack' Misses The Big Picture

Fun fact -- my first Facebook post about Cambridge Analytica was back in February 2017. It was a link to an article by Carole Cadwalladr, who now features prominently in the new Netflix documentary "The Great Hack".
Janus Rose of Vice.com argues the documentary doesn't go far enough. But some of the really important points are made along the way: "Data is now more valuable than oil." "We (consumers) are the product." You reading this, and I writing this, we give our information freely to these platforms in return for the cool toys they offer, and then they turn around and sell that information to rich asshats like Robert Mercer and Steve Bannon and Vladimir Putin, who use our data to influence voters to get Donald Trump elected, and Donald Trump's administration then throws little kids in cages. Or they use it to ensure Brexit happens, leading to chaos and financial instability in the UK and possibly violence in Ireland -- for why, see Brexit, Briefly: REVISITED! by CGP Grey. Or they use it in any number of other countries, to elect... well, whoever pays them the most, apparently. It's a business decision. Could be why we're seeing the rise of authoritarian regimes in democracies all over the globe.
Is that the cost of using this platform? Am I morally obligated to drop it -- and all the other platforms lacking adequate protections for our personal information?
Can we fix any of this by passing laws, also suggested in the documentary, that state clearly and unequivocally that data about you belongs to you, that control over one's personal data must now be considered a human right?
Step one is to understand and accept that humanity's arrogant rock-solid belief in our own rationality, our own personal imperviousness to propaganda, is crap. Deep down, we all believe we are special in this respect. None of us is. It's another bias, another blind spot in our hard-wired psychology. And yeah, I feel that way too. I just know rationally, at the same time, that I must be wrong about it. Knowing I'm actually vulnerable to being manipulated by innocent-looking targeted ads, I must also be humble enough to ask for help, for protection.
Corporations won't stop being evil because you ask, or because you shame them on social media. They'll only stop when it hurts their bottom line. That means one, or both, of two things: 1) Demanding legislation that outlaws the bad practice, funds investigation to ensure compliance, and imposes stiff penalties for violations. 2) Being willing to boycott those organizations until and unless they fix their privacy policies.
I don't see another option on the table. Do you?
No, I don't count "unplug and live off the grid" as a viable alternative. Not for most of us, and certainly not for someone who makes a living writing software.

Original Facebook post

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