News has emerged that up to 45,000 people may have had their personal data shared by British company Cambridge Analytica.
These last few weeks have been rough for Facebook to say the least. The original number of 50 million users said to have had their personal information shared by british analytical company, Cambridege Analytica, has gone up to a possible 87 million!
Facebook told RTE that only 15 Irish people downloaded the thisisyourdigitallife app, yet because of Facebook’s rules at the time, nearly 45,000 Irish peoples personal info was compromised and used by Cambridge Analytica.
Facebook have also admitted that most of its 2 billion users may have had their information shared by apps owned by third parties.
It is mad how many people could be affected by this scandal. Many may not see it as a big deal, but think about it another way. If you are standing at a bus stop and a complete stranger starts chatting to you and asking you for your personal information and then says he is going to tell his friend all your info, you are naturally going to feel uneasy about the situation. You are basically doing the same thing but on a virtual level when you agree to use an app through Facebook.
It is truly worrying how many people don’t really care about who their personal information is being shared to. Everyone is too busy sharing their current location, pictures of their holidays or family events. No one really cares about where this information could actually go to in the long run.
Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify on this fallout in Capitol Hill next week. He seems to be trying to plug the holes on a sinking ship, yet he must know that it wont sink. He knows that there are too many people using Facebook and its other apps such as Whatsapp and Instagram and not enough paying attention to the story that is currently unfolding. Yes, they have taken a huge hit as their stock dropping by nearly $80 million in March, but they already have a foothold in everyone’s life through social media.
After watching The Social Network, Zuckerberg always seemed dodgy to me . Seems like that assumption was correct after this.
John McAuliffe