Two steps we can take to break up Facebook’s monopoly on our data

Kevin Rafferty says users of social media sites, especially Facebook, have to be particular about what personal information they share and who they connect with, and legislation should be enacted to give people ownership of their data

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Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks on stage during the annual Facebook F8 developers conference in San Jose, California in April last year. Zuckerberg’s apologies and proposed solutions in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica debacle have done little to ease the concerns of the social network’s users. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:15am, 4 Apr 2018Updated: 8:23am, 12 Apr 2018

When Mark Zuckerberg emerged to face questions about the harvesting of 50 million Facebook users’ personal information, he behaved like a sulky teenager.

“This was a major breach of trust,” Zuckerberg said. “And I’m really sorry that this happened.” Of course he is: Facebook lost billions in market value after the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, and Zuckerberg’s personal fortune took a hit. But he did not say sorry to those whose personal information has made him one of the world’s richest people.

Is it time to break up Facebook because of its extreme control of data – as the US Supreme Court ordered that Standard Oil be broken up in 1911 because of its control of 85 per cent of refined oil, in breach of antitrust legislation?

Whistle-blowers exposed some of the murky deeds of Cambridge Analytica, and asked whether its manipulations helped Donald Trump become US president or illegally tipped the balance in the Brexit referendum. Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower Christopher Wylie told British members of parliament that Brexit was won “by fraud”. He claimed the organisations that were campaigning to leave the European Union colluded to evade campaign finance limits.

The revelations showed how much information Facebook regularly collects, as Cambridge Analytica took information from 270,000 participants in a quiz, opening the door to the personal details of 50 million people. Facebook is still collecting myriad information from its 2.2 billion users in ways they probably don’t even dream about.