The Unfolding Facebook Trust Crisis

When companies fail to take ownership when things go wrong, people begin to fear what else will go wrong.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal isn’t breaking news. Details started being revealed by the media more than two years ago. So, what’s the real story behind the damning brouhaha against Facebook?

We know that fake news was spread on the platform and it played some role in the US election. But Twitter and YouTube also played a similar role. Facebook has also dealt with other data firestorms and creepy user faux pas’ in the past. So why does it feel different this time?

Users are finally fed up with the company’s defensiveness. Blame, denial, and silence further erode trust. It encourages all of us to ask: Can Facebook/Zuckerberg be trusted?

Our feeds are filled with stories. I’d recommend the following three opinion pieces to get a picture of the rising public emotions behind the unfolding crisis:

Facebook in the Age of the Big Tech Whistleblower: Jessi Hempel for Wired

Why does it take a whistleblower to capture our attention and drive users to ‘delete Facebook’? Jessi Hempel discusses how hard it is to break through the user apathy that nebulous concepts like ‘big-data’ evoke.

“Most of us scroll through privacy terms on sites we use without reading them and accept without noticing or understanding the consequences. We all know we’ve been compromised already,” writes Hempel. “The challenge is how to use this moment to summon the will to lean on governments and companies to better protect individuals before this moment passes completely.”

The outrage sparked by the Cambridge Analytica scandal may drive some users off Facebook. Others will check their privacy settings. But will users also delete Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp? I doubt it.

The benefits of customized and ‘free’ apps seem to trump (no pun intended) any niggling doubts about whether we can trust a platform with our personal information.

Key Takeaway: Why do we let convenience trump trust?

Here’s Why That Recent Abuse of Facebook Data Matters: Claudia Geib for Futurism

In 2017, 98% of Facebook’s revenue came from advertising, monetizing user’s personal information by sharing data with third parties.

If the Facebook data scandal had hit in eight-weeks’ time, under the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation Act, Facebook may have been subject to fines of up to 4 percent of its global annual revenue for failing to adequately monitor the use of European user’s data by third-parties.

“Cambridge Analytica may be the most recent company found to be taking advantage of the data users unwittingly hand over to social media sites, but it likely won’t be the last,” writes Geib. “GDPR shows the power that legislation can have in reining in the moneymaking schemes of social media.”

However, regulation alone cannot fix this problem. If the incentives remain the same, apps and platforms will continue to be designed around the commercial purpose of monetizing their users. We need to start asking — can I trust the intentions of this company?

Key Takeaway: Regulation alone isn’t enough. We need to address incentives. Are platforms really acting the best interests of users?

Foot-in-Mouthbook: M.G Siegler for 500ish words.

“Facebook doesn’t have an image problem…Facebook has a self-awareness problem,” writes Siegler.

‘Trust breaches’ are incidences (real or perceived) that erode our confidence in a person, product or company. Over the past 18 months, Facebook has faced a steady stream. Siegler sums up the company’s response with an emoji: 

 ???♂?

A bruised Mark Zuckerberg splashed across the February cover of Wired looks like he has been the victim of a punch-up, but many of these wounds have been self-inflicted. The Facebook response has been cringe-worthy. For instance, running two-question surveys on the trustworthiness of media-sources, the divided response from executives, and most recently Zuckerberg selling his shares ahead of the 7 percent stock-crash prompted by the Cambridge Analytica story breaking. We can learn a lot from the mistakes being made.

Key Takeaway: When companies fail to take ownership when things go wrong, people begin to fear what else will go wrong.

Facebook seems to be missing the big picture around what is happening. Wired seems to agree the real source of the crisis is Facebook’s delayed and bungled response.

The real story is one of trust — what else are they hiding? What other shortcomings might lurk in the system that we don’t yet know about? Fear, suspicion, and disenchantment are deadly viruses that spread and are being spread fast.

Zuckerberg told Bloomberg Business Week last fall, “People trust people, not institutions.” It’s going to take a lot more than a 937-word statement posted on his Facebook profile on Wednesday to address underlying trust issues.

He’d be wise to listen to the words of Onora O’Neil:

“Trust, in the end, is distinctive because it’s given by other people. You can’t rebuild what other people give you. You have to give them the basis for giving you their trust.”