OMG - Facebook Has My Personal Data!

Facebook has come under fire over the last few days, over a situation that has little to do with Facebook.  It seems that a third party that harvests personal data from Facebook violated its agreement with Facebook, and sold that data to a company that used the data to send targeted political ads to Facebook users.

Well first, let's consider the fact that the third party violated its agreement with Facebook.  Facebook did nothing wrong; it has agreements in place to safeguard against that sort of thing, and this company violated that agreement.  So that company is in the wrong, not Facebook.

Second, all they did was send targeted political ads.  They didn't try to steal your identity or defraud you financially.

Third, you knowingly gave Facebook your data in the first place!  What did you expect?  That Facebook wasn't going to use that data for marketing purposes?  Hello - have you not noticed those ads on Facebook that seem to know you're thinking about buying a new mattress, or  that you like dogs, or that you tend to lean liberal or conservative?

You put that crap out there for Facebook to mine in the first place - to determine your buying preferences, your likes and dislikes, your political leanings- and sell it to advertisers.  Every time you click on a Facebook ad for a dog-friendly site, or a site that posts political memes like Drudge or Occupy Democrats, you set yourself up for this stuff.  What did you expect?

The company that shared the data in violation of Facebook's agreement obtained that data through development of a personality quiz.  In order for the developer to access your data, you or one of your friend's had to click on the quiz and complete it.  That's how it got its digital hands on your data.

So what's the solution? Don't take all those ridiculous personality and other quizzes that pop up on Facebook. Do you really think they're going to tell you what your personality type is? Do you need to take a quiz to know "What state am I from?" or "How Southern am I?" Those quizzes may seem like harmless fun, but that's how developers get your data.

I recently watched a news show that asked the question, "Who knows more about us - the NSA or Facebook?"  The answer - from a tech guru - was that the NSA knows what you're up to, but Facebook knows what you just bought, what you're thinking about buying, and who you're thinking about buying it from.  That's Facebook's end-game: to sell that data to marketers of goods and services, or to political parties or candidates seeking your vote, not to steal your identity.

That tells us four things:

1.  You don't seem to care what the NSA knows about you.  (You should.)
2.  You don't care what Facebook knows about your buying habits.  (You should, unless you want to be bombarded with ads and emails trying to get you to buy crap you may not want or need.)
3.  You don't care where you buy stuff from.  (You should - see #2 above.)
4.  You don't care what political party targets you.  (You should.)

Look, I've bought stuff that I didn't know I wanted based on Facebook ads that happened to trip a trigger.  The personalized pillow I bought for my wife for our anniversary that memorialized where and when we got married.  The coffee mug I bought her that commemorated the dog we rescued last summer.

Those things popped up on my newsfeed based on the date we got married, or the fact that we love dogs, all things that we freely shared as part of the information we share with Facebook.  I'm glad those things popped up, because otherwise I'd have never thought of them, yet they were thoughtful gift ideas.  Who knew what I should get my wife for our 22nd anniversary, when we already have everything we need?  Yet here was this pillow that seemed like the perfect gift.  Thank you, Facebook, for helping me figure out what to get her for our anniversary.

I've also gotten a lot of notifications for stuff I had no interest in.  Guess what?  You can turn those notifications off!  It's easy, and it keeps crap you don't want to see from showing up on your newsfeed.  You're in control.

See, we join Facebook of our own free will and accord.  We set our privacy settings as we choose.  I consulted an expert on this stuff - my daughter - and confirmed that the only data that's at risk on Facebook is the data that we freely and willingly put at risk ourselves.

Your data is much more at risk when you buy stuff at Target or Home Depot using your credit card, as has been proven from the merchant card breaches at those companies (and others, including Chipotle, T.J. Maxx, etc. ...)  Facebook doesn't have your credit card data, or your SSN. The worst that can happen is that you get some targeted ads you don't want.

Don't get me started on the conspiracy theorists that postulate that these third parties can somehow influence our elections. Nobody holds a gun to your head when you step into that ballot box. If you choose to believe the political memes and blogs, that's on you and you alone. Don't cry that they fed you misleading information. What did you expect? They're opinion pieces, and they're trying to sway yours. Go to the source documents, think for yourself about what the truth in them is, and get that silly-looking colander off your head.

So what of this fear that the government will over-regulate Facebook?  Well, for one thing, this is a government that is less prone to over-regulation than, say, the last administration, so that should calm our fears.  Second, what can they do?  Protect us from ourselves?  Again, this is information we freely shared, and Facebook had protocols in place, and third parties violated those protocols.  So if anything, let's go after the third parties, not Facebook.  (And no, those third parties did not change the outcome of the presidential election, for those out there wearing colanders on their heads.)

Facebook has, and will continue to, safeguard your data to the extent you choose.  So blame no one but yourself if Facebook has your data.  Your data is no more or less secure than it was two weeks ago, and all of that is on you.

What was my reaction to the hit Facebook stock took in the aftermath of this news sound bite?

I was a Facebook shareholder before the announcement of this "breach."  And after the announcement, I increased my position by about a third, because the stock was suddenly on sale, and for no good reason.  Facebook will be fine, and so will you.  Just be careful with whom you share your personally identifiable information (PII), and understand that the banks, merchants and other financially sensitive entities with whom you share it are a lot more important than Facebook.