The Price of Digital

If you are on Instagram or Facebook, I am certain you noticed the eerily real photos of friends in your feed recently. The only thing being, they looked decades older.

The photos were generated by FaceApp and app which allows users to change their photo in a variety of ways. The most popular being to age themselves by several years. Thanks to the #FaceApp challenge, the app went viral, with over 100 million users downloading the app including numerous celebrities.

However, soon after, an uproar arose as the apps’ peculiar Terms of Use was brought to light. Showing that users in essence have given over significant rights to the app simply by using it.

“You grant FaceApp a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully-paid, transferable sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your User Content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your User Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed, without compensation to you. When you post or otherwise share User Content on or through our Services, you understand that your User Content and any associated information (such as your [username], location or profile photo) will be visible to the public.

And the world went into a panic. Especially when it was discovered that the app designer is a Russian company. Chuck Schumer even urged the FBI and FTC to investigate the privacy risks.

But Surprise

However, many people are up in arms not knowing that these Terms of Use are generally very similar across many social media networks. Have you ever read your Facebook Terms of Services? You’d be surprised. Check it out on https://www.facebook.com/terms.php It’s similar for Instagram as well. (Facebook also owns Instagram).

“Instagram Terms of Use - Permissions You Give to Us. As part of our agreement, you also give us permissions that we need to provide the Service.

• We do not claim ownership of your content, but you grant us a license to use it.
• ... Instead, when you share, post, or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights (like photos or videos) on or in connection with our Service, you hereby grant to us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content (consistent with your privacy and application settings). You can end this license anytime by deleting your content or account. However, content will continue to appear if you shared it with others and they have not deleted it...

The only caveat in the Facebook/Instagram terms, being that according to them, these rights are executed in accordance with your privacy settings and it ends when you delete the app – if no one else has already shared the photo elsewhere.

DATA EQUALS DOLLARS

The digital age is data driven and data equals dollars. In 2017 data surpassed oil in value as stated in the Economist. According to Statistica.com, the 5 of the top 6 largest companies in the world by market value, are data driven (Apple, Micrososft, Amazon.com, Alphabet (Google parent) and Facebook). 

It is from your data, that companies learn what you like and who you are and are able to “re-target” you in the instance that you have engaged with an ad or app online. The data you provide on these apps, the services you use, the friends you have, all provide information on what services and products you are most likely to buy. 

For instance, a 26 year old woman, with 700 Facebook friends and 250 Instagram friends, 10 of which just celebrated a wedding and 10 of whom are expecting or have babies. She also searched for lingerie online on Amazon and clicked on that Gustazo for a trip for two to a hotel in Negril. She should’t be surprised if soon she’s seeing ads about baby clothes and car seats. They are able to “re-target” you in the instance that you have engaged with an ad or app online. 

Here is an excerpt from Facebook with regards to this taken from their website. 

“Information from partners.

Advertisers, app developers, and publishers can send us information through Facebook Business Tools they use, including our social plug-ins (such as the Like button), Facebook Login, our APIs and SDKs, or the Facebook pixel. These partners provide information about your activities off Facebook—including information about your device, websites you visit, purchases you make, the ads you see, and how you use their services—whether or not you have a Facebook account or are logged into Facebook. For example, a game developer could use our API to tell us what games you play, or a business could tell us about a purchase you made in its store. We also receive information about your online and offline actions and purchases from third-party data providers who have the rights to provide us with your information.”

The ultimate currency, is your data.

?YOUR DATA IS BUSINESS

FaceApp tapped into the power of artificial intelligence. Did you notice how real the future photos looked? This isn’t the time of low quality CGI (computer generated imaging). The FaceApp was able to generate such photos in seconds.

According to one article on Forbes, the app will very likely use all these faces to continue to train their artificial intelligence on how to read faces. With face App’s terms of services above, in essence your current or edited image could in essence be used in an advertisement somewhere else online or around the world, and - you agreed to it.

This could also be employed in a plethora of other ways and by both positive and negative elements, such as in international searches to catch criminals and prevent human trafficking or in identity theft. 

YOU REALLY HAVE TWO CHOICES 

I wish I could simply say you have many options, but in truth it basically boils down to 

1. Reading the terms of service before signing up and making sure that you are totally comfortable with them or 
2. Not using the service at all. 

As a matter of fact, it is clearly stated in Facebook’s policies that once you decide to use the service you are bound to the terms outlined. Otherwise you can opt to delete your account. (That disclaimer everyone posts to their pages periodically means nothing once you continue to use the application.)

Some may say there is also the third option of using an alternate and similar service - if such service exists. But there is no other Facebook, or Instagram. We all know too that Google is the best and most complete email service provider – well in my opinion. These services have encrusted themselves in how we communicate in our everyday lives. 

These behemoths of data have set the standard of what is allowable and tolerable by other second source apps. Most of these applications integrate directly with Facebook, Google or Instagram and so this can explain why the terms of use seems similar across across them. 

BENEFITS VS CONCERNS

As the future progresses, applications are going to offer more and more amazing services. There is already the Internet of things, and as we’ve already seen, artificial intelligence and assistants such as Alexa. These tools are going to become more and more of a given in our products and our purchasing behaviours.

We are often touting the benefits of the digital age and the 4th digital revolution. But rarely discuss the price we will have to pay. In this case it is and will continue to be our personal data. 

To maintain this digital revolution, more of your data, will be required in some form and at varying levels. So prepare for it.

Facebook’s user guidelines state that it needs your real name, why? Because a part of making the digital system more secure, will be making it more reliable and accurate. This is especially important as Facebook rolls out features such as money transfers through messenger and its freshly created digital currency, Libra. Facebook needs to know you really are who you say you are. Data, is the lifeblood that drives both the online economy - as well as its security. 

BUSINESSES BEWARE

This is also a push for business to realize the importance of data collection and on collecting data in a secure and open, honest fashion. As it’s not just going to be about creating the next best app.

The implications of data collected will also need to be considered. Users need to know that their data will be safe with you, and won’t be sold to third parties or fall into the hands of unscrupulous hackers and identity thieves. And that it is collected ethically. There isn’t enough time nor space to discuss the situation with Cambridge Analytica.

The price of breeches will be high, not only financially, but also in terms of loss of trust by your clients. Facebooks was able to survive their 5 billion dollar penalty and stock price drop, but a small local, app development company will not. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Apps will continue to ask for more and more personal data in exchange for access. It is left on us to decide how much we are willing to share in exchange for access to using email, certain apps, and for the ease of use online we’ve gotten used to. It’s up to us to be careful and wise in what we choose to to not to share.

The future is exciting, the possibilities and options are endless. But so are the people vying for your precious data. So be wise, and read the fine print.

And remember, though these apps and online services seem free, there is a price.

Sources:

https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update

https://www.facebook.com/terms.php

A version of this article was initially published in the Jamaica Observer on August 2, 2019.