Mark Zuckerberg and the 2012 Facebook Moscow Hack 63
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: As Facebook's privacy debacle rages on, it's interesting to look back at Mark Zuckerberg's 2012 visit to the Facebook Moscow Hack (photos, video), at which Facebook provided training in how to access the data of app users' friends and awarded prizes for apps that did so.
In a 2012 video, Facebook's Simon Cross shows the Moscow crowd how they can "get a ton of other information" on Facebook users and their friends. "We now have an access token, so now let's make the same request again and see what happens," Cross explains (YouTube). "We've got a little bit more data, but now we can start doing really interesting stuff. We can get my friends. We can get some more information about one of my friends. Here's Connor, who you'll meet later. Say 'hello,' Connor. He's waving. And we can also get a ton of other information as well."
Cross, ironically, was the spokesperson Facebook later tapped in 2015 to explain to the press why giving friends' data to apps was a horrible idea that had to be curtailed lest Facebook lose its users' trust. Cross told reporters that Mark Zuckerberg said one of Facebook's new slogans was 'People First', because "if people don't feel comfortable using Facebook and specifically logging in Facebook and using Facebook in apps, we don't have a platform, we don't have developers."
In a 2012 video, Facebook's Simon Cross shows the Moscow crowd how they can "get a ton of other information" on Facebook users and their friends. "We now have an access token, so now let's make the same request again and see what happens," Cross explains (YouTube). "We've got a little bit more data, but now we can start doing really interesting stuff. We can get my friends. We can get some more information about one of my friends. Here's Connor, who you'll meet later. Say 'hello,' Connor. He's waving. And we can also get a ton of other information as well."
Cross, ironically, was the spokesperson Facebook later tapped in 2015 to explain to the press why giving friends' data to apps was a horrible idea that had to be curtailed lest Facebook lose its users' trust. Cross told reporters that Mark Zuckerberg said one of Facebook's new slogans was 'People First', because "if people don't feel comfortable using Facebook and specifically logging in Facebook and using Facebook in apps, we don't have a platform, we don't have developers."
Faux outrage (Score:2, Insightful)
er... kinda (Score:1)
So if I don't use the app and my friend has me as a contact but does and my phone number is scraped did I give that information to facebook?
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Uhm, isn't that the point. Facebook doesn't just gather information that they have been given. They work with other companies to track and gather all the rest based on the information you have given them. The point of this is that apps were given access to your friend's data even if your friends/family don't even have a Facebook account. Ever wonder why stores all suddenly started asking for your phone number and email address... they would correlate it with Facebook's data and trade it.
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You GAVE Facebook that information on yourself.
For people who signed up for FB, yes, I agree. And they are fucking idiots, the lot. However, the problem is those idiots give FB information on their friends who never signed up for FB, so you can't totally stay out of their clutches.
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"You GAVE Facebook that information on yourself.
For people who signed up for FB, yes, I agree. And they are fucking idiots, the lot. However, the problem is those idiots give FB information on their friends who never signed up for FB, so you can't totally stay out of their clutches."
I disagree on both counts. Non-technical people can't be expected to know the ramifications of putting their information on Facebook. Even among those who know it's going to be used for targeted advertising, the many other ways
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If you believe that most people are idiots there probably isn't much I can say to change your mind. But what I see is that, in general, people still don't understand what the big deal is all about. After all, they don't mind if they get targeted advertising based on the information that Facebook collects. The other things that can be done with it are so poorly described in the media that it's no wonder people still don't get it. Show me Trump or Hillary supporters that agree they were brainwashed before the
Re:Faux outrage (Score:5, Insightful)
I am more concerned about data gathering by organizations where I didn't willingly give consent.
Guess who does that? Facebook.
Data miners dig into your Facebook shit, via API, and you're screwed.
By Facebook.
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I agree with the direction you're taking this.
Twitter, Google (all their shit), Apple (all their shit), Instagram, Snapchat, every goddam web page ...
We're so screwed and there's absolutely no turning back.
Re: Faux outrage (Score:1)
You are correct. Even Maxine Waters bragged off the grand powerful database the world had never seen that Obama was using from Facebook data. Google it.
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Yes, people gave FB their info. No, they did not willingly give that to Russia to fuck with out system and install a traitor.
Next time someone says, "I don't care about my privacy," give them a cookie.
Re:Faux outrage (Score:5, Insightful)
You GAVE Facebook that information on yourself
They weren't supposed to share that data. If my doctor goes around telling people that I have herpes I'm going to get mad at my doctor.
If my doctor says you GAVE me that information, I'm still going to be mad at him.
And if he tells me one of my dumb friends consented to sharing his information and that included my information, I'm still going to be mad at him, and I'm also going to be mad at my dumb friend.
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Exactly this.
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Yep.
But FB and the like have nothing to fear from the American government, so they will keep doing it, say that they are very sorry and continue doing it. Maybe they get a fine from the EU but those are low compared to what they earn selling your data, so they say sorry again and continue.
The only thing that can stop them is strict legislation.
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But, it would seem the US gov't (aside from a few select senators like Wyden) love the surveillance state. FB is a win-win-win for them
They get:
outsourced intelligence gathering - for free!
whatever corporate income tax FB isn't able to weasel/zuck their way out of
plausible deniability in terms of data gathering -- especially relative to collection on US citizens.
All they need to be able to do is turn the screws a little to extract whatever they want from FB/Google et al. Though they might pay a tiny amount
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There's no way you can spin this where Facebook didn't do something very, very wrong.
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It's not that they gave away the info you gave them that's the problem (though they did promise that they wouldn't give some of it away - and apparently broke that promise). But the thing about Facebook that's seriously scary is that they allowed 3rd parties to produce their own targeted advertising based on your public and private info. And alowed them to perpetrate fraud in the process.
I'm fine with Facebook aggregating me and targeting ads to maximize their 'effectiveness' and profitability. I'm not f
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The users are the product.
The NSA has the keys.
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That's why Apple keeps changing the lock.
Re: so ive been online since about 1988 (Score:2, Insightful)
The majority of users donâ(TM)t give a crap about their privacy, all they want is more likes under their selfies.
Fecesbook. Flush it and be done. (Score:1)
Just do it already.
Stop using Facebook, make it illegal (Score:1)
Everyone should stop using Facebook and the govt should make their business model illegal.
If we really need such a service, then we need to decentralize it and some entity (internaltional?) can control the bits that must be centralized for it to function. And do it in a non-profit way.
Comment removed (Score:3)
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"If modern America is anything, it's an indictment of the very idea of democracy itself"
It would have to be a democracy for that. It ain't. It's an oligarchy and always has been, by design. Just like in Athens, the vote was originally preserved for white male landowners. Now the only meaningful votes are done with dollars, and the evil have all the cash.
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Possible Solution (for the future) (Score:1)
"if people don't feel comfortable using Facebook and specifically logging in Facebook and using Facebook in apps, we don't have a platform, we don't have developers."
Hmmm...so if people just stopped using facecrook, en masse, this would send a message. Gosh, that's a novel concept!
Sadly, we live in the land where perception outweighs fact...and where want is automatically conflated with absolute NEEEEED. Hence companies doing whatever they wish and people believe themselves utterly powerless to stop it. Ma
Jail Zuckerberg, shut down Facebook for good (Score:2)