Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg pledges 'privacy-focused' future amid ongoing scandals

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2019
Facebook is embarking on a "privacy-focused" roadmap, shifting away from the public focus that has landed it in multiple scandals, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday.

Mark Zuckerberg


"Public social networks will continue to be very important in people's lives -- for connecting with everyone you know, discovering new people, ideas and content, and giving people a voice more broadly," he wrote in a blog post. "People find these valuable every day, and there are still a lot of useful services to build on top of them. But now, with all the ways people also want to interact privately, there's also an opportunity to build a simpler platform that's focused on privacy first."

Zuckerberg argued that Facebook and communications in general "will increasingly shift to private, encrypted services where people can be confident what they say to each other stays secure and their messages and content won't stick around forever." As an example of plans he pointed to WhatsApp, which started out with messaging but grew to include many other services under its umbrella.

Some tentpole principles will include safety, end-to-end encryption, less permanence, spaces for private interactions, and secure data storage. The goal is to "rebuild" more services around those angles.

On the storage issue Zuckerberg said that Facebook will avoid data centers in countries with poor track records on matters like privacy and freedom. That may be an indirect criticism of Apple, which is storing user data in Russia and China -- countries which regularly harass, imprison, or murder dissidents. Facebook is largely banned in China anyway, the exceptions being Hong Kong and Macau.

The company's changes may be as much a necessity to remain in business as a reaction to public sentiment, since it's facing a barrage of scandals -- the biggest of them being Cambridge Analytica, which could cost it billions of dollars in fines. Analytica collected data for voter profiles without most users' consent, and while Facebook shut down that operation in 2015, it waited until 2018 to make the lapse public.

Other problems have included hidden phone numbers being used in searches, a data-harvesting VPN app, violation of Apple's enterprise rules, and leaked health information.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    "I pledge to be more secretive about our skullduggery."
    debohunlollivern2itivguyolsmac_dogdysamoriabeowulfschmidttoysandmewatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 2 of 20
    VicWVicW Posts: 12member
    uh huh.
    dysamoriawatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 20
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,328member
    This article’s headline had me checking the date on my watch. It’s a bit early for 4/1 pranks, but thanks AI for the early preview. 
    foregoneconclusionlolliverolsdysamoriatoysandmewatto_cobracgWerks
  • Reply 4 of 20
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member
    No credibility on anything related to privacy.  
    debohunchasmlollivern2itivguyolsmac_dogdysamoriatoysandmewatto_cobrablurpbleepbloop
  • Reply 5 of 20
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    He repeatedly authorises projects that invade privacy, then they inevitably leak and he tries to claim its not as bad as it looks and Facebook is in fact "good for the world" 🙄 He has absolutely zero trust left with anyone and no one is going to believe this tripe.
    debohunracerhomie3Dave Kapchasmlollivern2itivguywlymdysamoriatoysandmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 20
    lmaclmac Posts: 206member
    Heard that before.
    lollivermacky the mackyn2itivguydysamoriatoysandmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 20
    knowitallknowitall Posts: 1,648member
    What about hijacking the world wide web by making ‘easily build facebook websites’ only visible when joining facebook and thereby creating a shadow www restricted by an iron curtain.
    What about the easy facebook ‘comment’ plugin, where you first have to sign in to be able to use it.
    This behavior is pure evil and can be compared with MS internet explorer redefining a MS (only) www.
    I hope this company gets an EU ban and fine of several billion euro like MS got once.
    lollivern2itivguytoysandmewatto_cobracgWerks
  • Reply 8 of 20
    FolioFolio Posts: 698member
    Dont know which is creepier: a defrocked priest whispering in another confessional, or Zuck assuring his flock of billions: "Trust me. It's okay now to say anything you want."
    watto_cobracgWerks
  • Reply 9 of 20
    maltzmaltz Posts: 453member
    End-to-end encryption for messaging is a huge step in the right direction.  I still don't trust them as far as I can throw them for anything else.  I canceled my account last May and haven't really missed it.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 20
    ...said the spider to the fly.
    toysandmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 20
    brakkenbrakken Posts: 687member
    Such blatant hypocracy. 
    And as if the usa never improsioned or tortured or illegally invaded anyone. 
    Good luck ignoring the laws of another country zucker
    toysandmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 20
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member
    Why is this clown still talking?  Why is anyone still listening?
    dysamoriatoysandmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 20
    bigmikebigmike Posts: 266member
    Right. He's just trying to keep his slaves/products...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 20
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    I could believe this if it were a consideration from the beginning, but the ONLY reason he’s saying this is bcoz he got caught.

    Mark Zuckerberg: “Sorry, not sorry.”
    toysandmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 20
    geekmeegeekmee Posts: 629member
    Facebook is like offering free memberships to a nudist colony and the owner promises not to look.
    toysandmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 20
    geekmeegeekmee Posts: 629member
    George Orwell said, ‘insincereity is at the heart of false communication.’
    toysandmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 20
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    I’ll add my “ha ha, yeah right” into the pile...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 20
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    Zero credibility, but I suppose that won't stop people from using his stuff. I still have my Facebook account, even if I don't use it much. It's a hard thing to delete, even though I know I probably should. :(
    maltz said:
    End-to-end encryption for messaging is a huge step in the right direction.  I still don't trust them as far as I can throw them for anything else.  I canceled my account last May and haven't really missed it.
    Well, except that anyone remember (I think it was Comey maybe?) talking about end-to-end encryption where it isn't really end to end and the gov't has a tap in the middle? I'm sure Zuck would be A-OK with jumping on that one.
  • Reply 19 of 20
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,299member
    Not that I normally like to kick people while down but it would be prefect timing for Apple knee cap him by supporting an open source and open web alternative.

    They have choices.
    cgWerks
  • Reply 20 of 20
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    mattinoz said:
    Not that I normally like to kick people while down but it would be prefect timing for Apple knee cap him by supporting an open source and open web alternative.

    They have choices.
    They missed their opportunity with when Facebag broke the developers license rules. That would have been the perfect time to just pull everything Facebook related. But, I think they fear that would have hurt them too much. I'm sure all the iDevice using people glued to their FB streams wouldn't have been too happy had they done that. I'd have been elated, though.
Sign In or Register to comment.