Facebook has doomed US users to second-class status in the privacy space. It’s time for Congress to act.

Facebook has equivocated on whether it will follow EU-like rules on data privacy in the US.

On April 10 and 11, Congress will ask Mark Zuckerberg to explain himself. The Facebook CEO will testify before Senate and House committees about the Cambridge Analytica data leak, which the company says has affected up to 87 million users of its service. The company has further owned up to efforts by “malicious actors” to scrape data on “most” of its two billion accounts.

Despite these revelations, Facebook still hasn’t learned its lesson. In comments this week, Zuckerberg doomed his US users to second-class status when it comes to data privacy.

Zuckerberg and his executive team had a chance to get ahead of this public relations and technological disaster. On May 25, companies operating in the European Union must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, which takes online privacy to new levels for ordinary people in Europe.

The rules govern everything from how companies get users’ consent for gathering data, to the ability of users to transfer their data from one service to another, to the “right to be forgotten” (now termed “right to erasure”), that is, the right to delete your online presence.

Congress should pressure Zuckerberg to at least pledge a voluntary effort to impose the new EU privacy regulations on his US operations.

During an interview this week with Reuters, Zuckerberg pledged to follow the EU rules, but he refused to commit to following GDPR-like rules in the US or anywhere else outside the EU. “We’re still nailing down details on this, but it should directionally be, in spirit, the whole thing,” Zuckerberg said. In other words, the rules it follows will be different, and presumably more lax, for US users.

To Zuckerberg’s credit, his thinking has evolved over time. At first, the misuse of Facebook’s data wasn’t the company’s problem, until Cambridge Analytica’s abuse came to light. Recently, he’s suggested an openness to some federal regulation, without suggesting anything specific. Today, he’s bound to comply with EU rules, but he stops short of calling for anything approaching parity in the US with the EU, except for a vague nod to GDPR’s “spirit.” That’s not good enough.

Lawmakers in Washington should pin Zuckerberg down first on what he knew and when he knew about the Cambridge Analytica debacle. Second, they should pressure him to pledge a voluntary effort to impose the new EU privacy regulations on his US operations. If he demurs, Congress should move forward with amendments to existing data privacy laws or write new ones.

Do you think the US needs to strengthen its online privacy laws?

Mark Zuckerberg should resign now. Why? Because success.

Mark Zuckerberg should close his laptop and call it quits. (Photo courtesy Getty Images)

When Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook 14 years ago, he was a pimply kid in a dorm room. Today, despite a rising assault on many fronts, he’s got 2.2 billion users. He wanted to connect the world. Done. He ought to check that box, close his laptop, and move on to his next gig.

Quitting now seems counter-intuitive, given his success. Zuckerberg’s story matches much of the American myth. Starting with almost nothing (apart from a privileged education at Harvard), he has built Facebook into one of the most powerful media companies on the planet. One-third of the world’s population logs in. By any practical measure, Facebook dominates the social media landscape.

I see evidence of Zuckerberg’s success in my own life. I joined Facebook in 2009, and I quickly connected with friends and relatives whom I hadn’t seen or spoken to for 10 years or more. As a heavy Facebook user—for business and pleasure—I enjoy seeing photos of kids growing up or reading stories of promotions or marriages. I even like some of the [gagh] political posts. It’s fun to share in my friends and family’s good times. This is a direct result of Zuckerberg’s vision.

Facebook is enjoying success even as it perpetuates an abusive relationship with its users.

But anything can go stale after a while. Corruption and decay is inevitable. In Facebook’s case, its business model is gangrenous. To be profitable, it relies on manipulating users into handing over information for the purpose of manipulation by a third party, e.g., advertisers, Russian trolls, or unscrupulous Big Data firms.

The bulk of Facebook’s users have no idea what’s going on, though the revelations about Cambridge Analytica is lifting the scales from some users’ eyes. They’re quitting, a la #DeleteFacebook. As Zuckerberg himself has acknowledged, his company is facing a crisis of credibility. Fact is, the company has no idea what to do, beyond tweaking a few privacy settings.

Let’s be honest: No one trusts Facebook or Zuckerberg any more.

Looking from another angle, Zuckerberg has a crappy record as CEO of a major business. Tech observer Devin Coldaway produced a sobering list of Facebook’s business misfires, from gaming to the “social graph” to the ever-frustrating News Feed, which has morphed more times over the past years than a comic-book monster.

Yes, Facebook is profitable, but as Zuckerberg himself noted, “none of that matters if our services are used in ways that don’t bring people closer together.” Facebook is enjoying success even as it perpetuates an abusive relationship with its users.

Zuckerberg has always seemed like a fish out of water. He’s the brilliant nerd who consistently wins first place at the science fairs but doesn’t show up at basketball games. He ought to apply for the job of chief data wrangler at Amazon. He might even make it through Jeff Bezos’ HR gauntlet. Maybe not. Apart from creating the attention economy almost single-handed, and making it easy to upload cat videos, and earning millions for his investors, he hasn’t really accomplished much.

Zuckerberg should take a cue from great athletes, such as boxing star Roberto Durán, who cried, “No mas (No more),” in the middle of a match when he realized his time was done. While the aphorism that “Winners don’t quit, and quitters never win” contains some truth, history is filled with winners who forgot that the olive crown of victory is a gift that can be snatched away. The Greeks warned about the dangers of hubris, and as any gambler knows, there’s no shame in cashing out while you’re ahead.

What do you think? Should Mark Zuckerberg resign?

My friends are abandoning Facebook. Why I won’t, and can’t.

My friends are abandoning Facebook. Why should I? (Image by Ervins Strauhmanis.)

The Cambridge Analytica debacle is the last straw for many of my friends. They no longer trust Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. My friends are posting final messages on the platform that have an upsetting resemblance to suicide notes. One said he’s moving his social media activity to Twitter. Another wrote, “This social experiment has failed.”

They’re not deleting their accounts, a la #DeleteFacebook, because they don’t want their friends to think they’re dead, presumably. Instead, they’ve abandoned their accounts, freezing their digital lives, at least on Facebook.

I won’t follow their lead. I can’t.

Just the other day, I learned via Facebook that my kid sister can play the drums.

I joined Facebook about 10 years ago. Almost immediately, I connected with friends and family whom I hadn’t seen or spoken to for a decade or more. I’m not very good at “keeping in touch,” and Facebook made it much easier for an introvert such as myself. I’m still friends with most, if not all these people, and I like seeing pictures of their babies growing up and their cats and their oversharing selfies. I don’t mind the dopamine rush.

I won’t abandon Facebook because I want to know what my friends and family are doing, even if it’s a curated, squeaky clean version of them. Just the other day, I learned via Facebook that my kid sister can play the drums. Whoa! Who’da thought?

I’ve incorporated Facebook into my work life. I have an author Facebook page, and even though the traffic is minimal, it’s an expected facet to an independent writer’s marketing strategy. Lots of book buyers live on Facebook. I can’t ignore that.

I can’t abandon Facebook because it’s one of the few free ways for an indie writer to reach a large audience. I’d be stupid to close down my author page.

In other words, I’m stuck with Facebook.

That said, Facebook’s business is rotten to the core. As the 2016 election interference and Cambridge Analytica scandals have shown, Facebook’s viability depends on gathering mountains of user data generated by fear and rage. In the best case scenario, advertisers use the data to persuade. In the worst case, they manipulate base emotions to disrupt democracy and divide communities. In either case, Facebook makes money. That’s the problem.

Mark Zuckerberg’s frequent mea culpas sound more and more like the boy who cried, “Wolf!” Regulation is now almost certain, though it probably won’t reform a business model that’s nothing more than a Faustian bargain with the id.

My friends no longer want their personal information and preferences, e.g., “likes,” used against them. Abandoning a Facebook account is a principled, if naive gesture. Even without Facebook, they’re still generating tons of data, and it’s gathered by many more entities besides Facebook, including other social media companies, credit card companies, political parties, and the government. With that caveat, I say, “Farewell.”

For now, I’m staying on Facebook. I’ll continue scrolling through my News Feed, ignoring wacko political posts, and liking status updates about my sister’s musical talents. For now.

Have you decided to stick with Facebook? Why?

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