It ’s been two months since Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spend hours testifying before Congress , and the fellowship has finally provided resolution to the Senate portion of the sense of hearing . The450 - pagedocumentmostly does a attorney - dancing around uncomfortable topic . But there are some telling tidbit of entropy as well .
When Zuckerberg take question from two Senate subcommittees in April , he repeatedly responded that he would get back to private lawmaker later whenever he was present with a tough dubiousness . Last night ’s passing of Facebook ’s responses addresses far more inquiry than were asked at the public hearings . Senators sent over 2,000 motion , and some went further than others : Lindsey Graham submitted just one inquiry , while Ted Cruz give-up the ghost sent a humongous 114 questions .
The sheer length of the papers and the opacity of Facebook ’s responses makes it difficult to say which resolution provide the most insight . In all honesty , it seems like you could find most of this information in Facebook ’s various terms of inspection and repair document . But Facebook is like malarkey — the notes it does n’t play are often the most telltale . It ’s high - price lawyer clearly did a good job of filling in space with their answers , but which Senators adjudicate they are unsatiated will be the major question in the near futurity .
Senator Deb Fischer call for : “ How many categories ( i.e. attributes , factors , labels , or data points ) does Facebook pick up about particular user ? ” To which Facebook respond : “ As explain in our Data Policy , we collect three basic family of data about people . ” It operate on to list the threebroad categoriesthat could contain any bit of data points .
Fischer entreat Facebook on “ retiring reports that betoken that Facebook compile about 98 data categories , ” a number that would return around 192 billion datum point for Facebook ’s 2 billion exploiter . Facebook responds by assuming the Senator is referring to aWashington Postarticle in which a reporter listed the data points they ’d found being offered to advertisers about themselves . The response does not supply a total for the maximum number of data point family that Facebook collects on users , alternatively spending 365 words explaining that the number of datum points it uses for advertising is dissimilar for everyone .
Ted Cruz used his clip in April to ask potential political bias at Facebook — specifically , he pass an inordinate amount of time discussing the Trump - corroborate bloggers Diamond and Silk ’s claims that they were being ban . It wasembarrassing . In write form , Cruz mail 114 lengthy questions , many with sub - categories . He begins his inquiry with by instruct that a “ question ’s answer should not cross - reference resolution provide in other questions . ” We counted 63 times Facebook responded with a pas seul of “ See Response to Question X. ” It in all probability feel good for Facebook ’s lawyers to do on the nose what Cruz enjoin not to do , but his section could easily be an ongoing worry for the companionship . Cruz has given pundits 114 headline to keep pounding on Facebook ’s say political diagonal against conservatives .
liberalist who might suspect that Facebook gave the Trump political campaign preferential discussion in 2016 can roost assured that the company claims the Clinton drive was offered “ identical keep . ” Reports have swirled for months that Clinton ’s staffturned downembedded Facebook staffers and reject help that the Trump run eagerly admit . CBS News account that former Clinton staffersconfirmedthat the campaign did , at least , turn down the offer to play in plant Facebook employees .
Senator Kamala Harris ’s segment ( start onpage 153 ) is deserving reading in full , especially for the doubtfulness Facebook avoids . Harris ask what steps were taken in make the conclusion not to inform impacted users that their data was embezzle by Cambridge Analytica after it was sold by a enquiry prof namedAleksandr Kogan . Facebook say it “ took prompt action ” after it “ learned about Kogan ’s breach of Facebook ’s data use policies in December 2015 . ” It mistily claims that it take some unsatisfactory steps to certify that the data had been erase , and it like it “ had notified people whose information may have been affect . ” As for who made the decision not to inform user , what the rationale for this decision was , and when Zuckerberg get wind about it , Facebook heterosexual person - up resolve not to respond .
A notable drift in Facebook ’s responses is its inclination to forfend uncomfortable information about its practices by say its an industriousness standard that most like platforms utilize . One particularly canny deterrent example it pulled out was in reaction to an inquiry from Senator Roy Blunt about track non - Facebook user and garner equipment data . Facebook explained that it utilize cooky and widget around the web to call for data point and explained how the Committee ’s own website transport data to Google :
This is a standard feature of the Internet , and most websites and apps share this same data with multiple unlike third - parties whenever multitude visit their web site or app . For instance , the Senate Commerce Committee ’s website apportion information with Google and its affiliate DoubleClick and with the analytics company Webtrends . This means that , when a individual visits the Committee ’s web site , it sends browser app information about their sojourn to each one of those third party .
It ’s tough to say how bright it is for Facebook to deflect attention from its own practices by acknowledge that the entire field of data - mining for advertising is shitty to its marrow . It ’s absolutely reliable that Google and others are lock in the same practice as Facebook with depart degrees of success . But Facebook is the one that misplace control of its data and found itself mixed up in one of the most controversial political hunting expedition in American history . That ’s the sort of worst - font scenario that gets the great unwashed ’s attending . The nature of the data it collects tends to intentionally skew more personal than others , and people take it personally when they find they ’ve been consistently misled about who has access to that data . As Brad Parscale told 60 Minutes , the Trump effort used every data point - driven program it could to influence voters , but “ Facebook was the 500 - pound Gorilla gorilla . ”
[ Senate Committee on Commerce , Senate Committee on the Judiciary ]
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