Facebook is a global social network owned by MetaPlatforms, headed by Mark Zuckerberg. The network began to expand in the mid-2000s, and in 2018, it had more than 2.2 billion active users (Günel et al., 2019). Currently, the company has a $562.19 billion market capitalization and is one of the most expensive companies in the world, which is easily explained by the rapid capitalization of the number of subscribers through the display of advertising content (O’Flaherty, 2022, para. 3). The company recently announced yet again changes to its privacy policy due to pressure from regulatory scrutiny and a series of allegations (Isaak & Hanna, 2018). This paper aims to discuss how Facebook is going to introduce the change process of its privacy policy.
Interestingly, the changes to the privacy policy were also linked to Apple’s privacy changes. Thus, Facebook has officially promised to include more information about the data the system collects and the data it shares, as well as the way the data is stored (Boatwright & White, 2020). Privacy update processes will occur for Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger apps and programs, but will not include WhatsApp. Most importantly, Facebook will add a control to help consumers adjust their preferences for ads. It is worth noting that the scandals surrounding the company’s user policies began with accusations of indifference to how political ads influence users and change their political decisions (Ehondor & Ogbu, 2020). As a result, Facebook faced numerous dissatisfied users and the need to review its practices.
Therefore, in response to the demands of Congress and other participants in the global socio-political process, Facebook stated that it is currently going to implement technologically real politics. More specifically, the company again disclaims responsibility for privacy but offers users to take responsibility for using the network and sign an agreement that does not include significant changes to the policy. Consequently, the movement to remove Facebook, which is often installed by default on many smartphones, has recently gained popularity among users. In this case, the user can be sure that the company does not collect data about him without his knowledge.
References
Boatwright, B. C., & White, C. (2020). Is privacy dead? Does it matter? How Facebook frames its data policy through public communication. The Journal of Public Interest Communications, 4(1), 78-83.
Ehondor, B. A., & Ogbu, S. U. (2020). Personal data protection and Facebook privacy infringements in Nigeria. Journal of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 17(2), 1-10.
GĂĽnel, B. S., Ĺžahin, S., Kogias, D. G., & Patrikakis, C. Z. (2019). Privacy issues in post dissemination on Facebook. Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, 27(5), 3417-3432.
Isaak, J., & Hanna, M. J. (2018). User data privacy: Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, and privacy protection. Computer, 51(8), 56-59.
O’Flaherty, K. (2022). Facebook’s new privacy policy – what you need to know.Forbes. Web.