Facebook Dating Launch Blocked in Europe After it Fails To Show Privacy Workings (techcrunch.com) 31
Facebook has been left red-faced after being forced to call off the launch date of its dating service in Europe because it failed to give its lead EU data regulator enough advanced warning -- including failing to demonstrate it had performed a legally required assessment of privacy risks. From a report: Late yesterday Ireland's Independent.ie newspaper reported that the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) had sent agents to Facebook's Dublin office seeking documentation that Facebook had failed to provide -- using inspection and document seizure powers set out in Section 130 of the country's Data Protection Act. In a statement on its website the DPC said Facebook first contacted it about the rollout of the dating feature in the EU on February 3. "We were very concerned that this was the first that we'd heard from Facebook Ireland about this new feature, considering that it was their intention to roll it out tomorrow, 13 February," the regulator writes. "Our concerns were further compounded by the fact that no information/documentation was provided to us on 3 February in relation to the Data Protection Impact Assessment [DPIA] or the decision-making processes that were undertaken by Facebook Ireland." Facebook announced its plan to get into the dating game all the way back in May 2018, trailing its Tinder-encroaching idea to bake a dating feature for non-friends into its social network at its F8 developer conference.
Dating Service, or... (Score:2)
I wish that they would stop calling this "dating" as it's the last thing it is.
Re:Dating Service, or... (Score:4, Funny)
Well, considering how Facebook mixes and matches data, there's a pretty good chance that if you get ads for divorce lawyers, you need one soon...
Accidentally misnamed (Score:2)
They meant to call it Facebook Data, but it was misspelled as Facebook Dating. The reason they cannot find privacy workings is because there are none.
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The EU's strategy is one step forward and two steps back. It was because of rubbish like this that the UK chose to leave the EU. The irony here is that the UK itself cannot come to some consensus.
What happened is that the UK is now free to take one step forward but cannot come to a consensus about how many, call them 'N', steps it wants to take backward other than that N must definitely be greater than two.
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It was because of rubbish like this that the UK chose to leave the EU.
Really? Having to do modicum of accountability and disclosure is rubbish? We all know that FB is going to rape your privacy in a dark alley behind the bar, but at least EU forces them to cuddle with you afterwards.
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Well I expect you probably don't want ad's from your work PC targeting you from your posted fetish. Also needing to be able to block out the crazies, and not providing enough information for them to track you.
Even if you are single and rather desperate to find a SO, you will still have some set of standards.
Re:Facebook Dating Launch Blocked in Europe (Score:4, Interesting)
It has all to do with what Facebook is going to do with this and all the other data they have on you.
Like how long are they going to retain it, who are they going to share it with or offer for sale, can it be deleted in a simple way etc.
Re:Facebook Dating Launch Blocked in Europe (Score:4, Insightful)
It's got nothing to do with what users knowingly share with each other. It has all to do with what Facebook is going to do with this and all the other data they have on you. Like how long are they going to retain it, who are they going to share it with or offer for sale, can it be deleted in a simple way etc.
... and given the whole Cambridge Analytica Ltd mess I'd say that the EU has voiced a legitimate concern. If Facebook can't be bothered to set up and enforce proper mechanisms to guarantee privacy I see no reason why the EU commission should not keep kicking Facebook in the balls until they do.
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You're absolutely right and to be more specific. What someone might want to share with a potential dating match is probably not what they want to share with...
Employers.
Nosy government employees/police.
Current and past matches.
Ex's and baby parents.
Hackers trying to social engineer their way into your lives.
With increased data mining, being in control of personal/private details needs to be a right because no one can control what happens once the data is public.
Re:Facebook Dating Launch Blocked in Europe (Score:4, Informative)
The GDPR explicitely states that for each information you want to gather, you have to specify the purpose to the people you get that information from and ask for their confirmation. You can't just take that information and do whatever you want, just because it's technically possible. That's something many techies don't get for some reason. It's also technically possible to stab people with a knife, and it's still forbidden, even if people provide access to their back by being in your proximity.
If Facebook is starting a dating service based on the information people put on their Facebook account, it still has to specify what information they use and how they want to use it for date matching, and how they inform possible matches. So far, Facebook didn't provide a service like this, and thus no Facebook user ever agreed to have his personal information used for such a service. And a data protection officer has to look over that specification and agree to it and be able to later check if Facebook adheres to that specification. Apparently, Facebook did not provide that specification, and thus that new service is not being allowed in the E.U.
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Umm... I might be considering providing some information about me to some people on the internet. Certainly not all people and most definitely not all information. Would you share all your weird ass fetishes on a page that your current or even potential employer can read? Along with your real name and everything?
The company... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:The company... (Score:5, Interesting)
One of the things that old time science fiction got really wrong about the future was that it assumed people developed tech to solve problems. Nobody realized how much money was to made perpetuating problems.
I introduced many people to their first experience with a computer. They didn't even know what a computer looked like; if you asked them to draw one they'd draw one of IBM's iconic 700 series tape drives. I can confidently report that the human managed to propagate itself before computers were involved.
Yes, there was loneliness, anxiety, and frustration back then, but social media hasn't eliminated those things. Why would it? Those things drive user engagement.
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I see it more as a mixed bag. I was *there*. Crushing and intractable loneliness was a big problem for people back in the day, just like it is now.
The new problem is how easy social media makes creating a false facade, when genuine intimacy is about letting your guard down. When you know someone loves you, you don't feel like you need to suck in your gut.
When somebody's life starts looking *especially* wonderful on social media, it often turns out they're actually going through a rough patch.
How about... (Score:1)
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#DeleteSocialMedia
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I had this conversation before about whether or not slashdot counts as social media. My take is that social media is a "place" where people go to post pictures of themselves, write things about themselves, and comment on other peoples' selves. There, it's all about whoever is using the platform. But slashdot is a blog, where people share new articles, and comments happen. If I wanted to "look someone up" I'd certainly not come to slashdot. I'd go to facebook.
Facebook business model title: 'Creepy as fuck' (Score:2)
What's next. Zuckerbook? Facebook Kamasutra?
Fuck off, Zuckerbook. Seriously, why are you still using Facebook, people? Are you dumb? Leave Facebook TODAY.
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Facebook always had dating add ons ...
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What's next. ...Facebook Kamasutra?
They have that on youtube already though.
Facebook 'dating' (Score:2)