Was it just
this morning that I was slow-clapping for Facebook's upcoming app management and fact-checking features? Did I really say in that post that today had actually been better for Facebook than yesterday?
Well, it would seem that Zuck ain't havin' none o' that, because he's gone and stuck another of this feet squarely in his own mouth.
As reported by Reuters:
Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday the social network had
no immediate plans to apply a strict new European Union law on data
privacy in its entirety to the rest of the world, as the company reels
from a scandal over its handling of personal information of millions of
its users.
Zuckerberg told Reuters in a phone interview that Facebook already
complies with many parts of the law ahead of its implementation in May.
He said the company wanted to extend privacy guarantees worldwide in
spirit, but would make exceptions, which he declined to describe.
“We’re
still nailing down details on this, but it should directionally be, in
spirit, the whole thing,” said Zuckerberg. He did not elaborate.
His comments signal that U.S. Facebook users, many of them still angry over the company’s admission that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica got hold of Facebook data on 50 million members, may soon find themselves in a worse position than Europeans.
Seriously, I'm starting to think that he's a closet centipede, or something. Because he can't possibly be this much of an idiot.
Adopting the EU standards for user privacy across Facebook's entire operation, as the best practice available in this are, should be a no-brainer at this point. Like allowing users to easily delete their accounts, adopting EU standards globally would be exactly the kind of both, pro-consumer move that would turn public opinion back in Facebook's favour, and stem the flow of exiting users. It might even save them money, since it allows them to have a single platform in all markets, rather than a patchwork of platforms in various countries, each of which runs differently.
There's only one reason to not do this, really, and that's if FB expect to make more money from exploiting users in places (like the U.S.) with lax regulations. Zuckerberg had a clear opportunity to put Facebook's money where his own mouth is, and promise to do better for all of Facebook's users, rather than just the ones protected by a strong regulatory regime; instead, he's put his own foot in his mouth again, and ensured that the day's new cycle will end with a discussion of what they're
not doing to protect their users, rather than being about the things that they
are doing, which they announced earlier.
To describe this as moronic is to fail to do it justice. I'd ask who the fuck let this happen... except that it was Mark Zuckerberg who approved both the new features of this morning, and uttered the tone-deaf statement of this evening. He's the CEO of Facebook; the buck stops with him.
GG, Zuck. GG.
#FacebookIsTheProblem
#DeleteFacebook
UPDATED: APRIL 5th:
Apparently someone has explained to Zuckerberg just how badly this was playing in the media, because he's walked it back a bit. As per HuffPost:
Asked specifically if he’d be willing to implement new privacy policies in the U.S. similar to the strict new privacy laws rolling out in the European Union, Zuckerberg said he was comfortable with the idea but not in the same format.
When the EU law takes effect on May 25, Facebook will have to get users’ explicit consent to collect data and be much more upfront about how it uses that data. Zuckerberg said Facebook “intends to make the same controls and settings available everywhere, not just in Europe.” That’s subject to some flexibility, however ― a variation he attributed to a patchwork of global laws on the matter.
So Facebook will implement
GDPR as the standard Facebook-wide.... except that it will look different in different countries, depending on what's actually required by the laws in those countries. Which is being hailed as good news, from people who've failed to realize that Zuckerberg's said that Facebook both will and won't adopt GDPR world-wide because it represents the best practices available for privacy/ Zuck wants credit for saying that he'll provide the strongest possible privacy protection to users across the board, although he still wants the flexibility to implement something less strong than GDPR in markets where GDPR isn't the law of the land.
That's... how do you say?..
horseshit.
It's possible that the laws in some jurisdictions actually contradict the GDPR standards, of course, but rather than just
say that, Zuck went vague. All he needed to say was that Facebook would implement GDPR as the strongest available standard for every market where its provisions weren't actually contradicted by other laws; and, further, that Facebook would lobby for GDPR to be adopted as the standard in jurisdictions where their users would be subject to lesser protections because GDPR provisions can't legally be implemented. What was needed was a clear, concise, and unambiguous statement of intent, here: a new dedication to their users' safety, security, and privacy that Facebook had previously not demonstrated.
Which leaves us exactly where we were; with Facebook planning to meet GDPR standards everywhere, except where they won't, and with no clarity about who will and won't be covered, or exactly why those left exposed won't be benefiting from the new practices. It's PR pablum, acknowledging that they need to do more on this issue, but without actually committing to doing anything more on this issue than they'd already be forced to do, in order to comply with EU laws. It's absolutely the bare minimum he could say, while managing to say nothing at all.
And, yet, it seems to be working. Everyone seems to be reporting this as if Zuckerberg had actually said what they wanted to hear, instead of hearing what he actually said. So, I can't exactly call it a fail; it's accomplishing what he wanted to accomplish. As failures of journalism go, that's pretty disheartening.
