Facebook redesign raises new questions about privacy



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<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Facebook (FBthis week & nbsp;announced a redesigned office& nbsp; website and smartphone app that puts its groups at the center of the social network experience. According to experts in privacy protection, the inclusion of groups on the social network may be a concern, "according to data experts. Data-reactid = "15"> Facebook (FB) announced this week a redefined smartphone website and app that integrates its social networking experience center groups, but make groups a bigger player on the network. can be a source of concern, according to experts in privacy protection.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The updated version of Facebook for mobile and computer office, called "FB5", & nbsp;puts the focus on the communities of users, or groups, on the app and the website, according to Facebook, which unveiled the new website and app designs this week at the annual F8 Developer Conference in San Jose, California. But three data privacy experts, Yahoo Finance, have worried that the focus on the groups could be a new opportunity for Facebook to leverage more user data to its advantage. "Data-reactid =" 16 "> The updated version of Facebook for Mobile and Desktop, called" FB5 ", highlights Facebook, which unveiled the new website and app designs this week when the annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, Calif. Data privacy experts, Yahoo Finance, have worried that the focus on groups could be a new opportunity for Facebook to exploit more user data to his advantage.

"Although these smaller groups may seem more private in the sense that they have a smaller group of eyeballs, Facebook is still very attentive and can collect even more intimate details of these groups than user profiles or the news feed, more comfortable sharing information, "said Dylan Gilbert, policy researcher at Public Knowledge, a Washington-based non-profit organization that promotes an open Internet.

A timely overhaul

The new Facebook mobile application, called FB5, puts groups in the foreground. Source: Facebook

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The new redesign comes about two months after CEO Mark Zuckerberg released his vision for messaging and social networking "privacy-focused" & nbsp;in a blog post. Over the past year or so, the social network has been confronted with a number of user data privacy scandals, including the Cambridge Analytica scandal in March 2018, in which it was revealed that the Cambridge Analytica voting company had access to 87 million Facebook user accounts. In the months that followed, Facebook was in damage control mode, updating and adjusting its development and use strategies, deploying new features and responding to regulators. Facebook should pay a record $ 3 billion to $ 5 billion fine for violating a 2011 FTC consent agreement, requiring the social network to abide by a "comprehensive privacy program" and obtain "express consent" Facebook users before sharing. "data-reactid =" 30 "> The new redesign comes about two months after CEO Mark Zuckerberg published his vision of" privacy-focused "messaging and social networking in a blog. treated a number of user privacy scandals, including Cambridge Analytica in March 2018, which revealed that the Cambridge Analytica voting company had access to more than 87 million Facebook user accounts. in damage control mode, updating and adjusting its developer and user policies, deploying new features and responding to regulators Facebook should pay a record $ 3 to $ 5 billion fine to Potenti violating a 2011 consent agreement with the FTC, requiring the social network to abide by a "complete privacy program" and obtain e "explicit consent" of Facebook users before sharing their data.

In his blog post in early March, Zuckerberg added that groups, private messaging, and ephemera were three of the fastest growing areas of online communication. More than 400 million of Facebook's 2.38 billion active monthly users participate in groups where users gather around common interests, ranging from discussions around the ins and outs of "Avengers: Endgame" to the exchange of pretty pictures of pets.

Facebook follows certain unspecified signals on users and groups, including the groups to which users belong. With the help of these signals, Facebook can also recommend other users of groups and pages. By doing so, and by focusing on groups redefined by Facebook, the social network clearly hopes to boost user growth and engagement, which has slowed down in recent quarters. .

Take privacy seriously?

Facebook, for its part, denies that the focus of the redesign on groups is a pure monetization game.

"We take the protection of people's privacy very seriously and forbid advertisers to target them based on their conversations on Facebook, including in groups," said a Facebook spokesperson at Yahoo Finance.

However, Daniel Herdean, CEO and co-founder of Cognetik, a data analytics product and services company, says the group-centric redesign allows Facebook to create richer datasets about its users, even if they Data is not explicitly used for targeted advertising, which is Facebook's core business.

"They [Facebook] expand their datasets, so from a business point of view it's really a great move for Facebook that makes so much sense to me, "says Herdean. "But it's also a bit alarming at the same time, in that, with the groups at the center, they can continue to grow in terms of engagement."

Todd Shollenbarger, chief global strategist at Veridium, an identity authentication company, said Facebook's new design of desktops and mobile phones raised new questions.

"Faced with the many criticisms, Facebook has recently taken the position of truly defending the privacy of its users, but the recent changes are a barometer to test the authenticity of Facebook," Shollenbarger said.

"More specifically, will Facebook recognize that the data collected belongs to individuals? Or will he give people meaningful control over their data?

These are issues that Facebook must strive to address as it continues to address privacy issues with its users and government officials in the coming months.

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