Case Study 9

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Facebook Privacy: There is no Privacy


Q1: Perform an ethical analysis of Facebook. What is the ethical dilemma presented by this case?

The people or stakeholders involved in the ethical analysis of Facebook including the advertisers, data collection agencies, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), individual users who uses Facebook and obviously Facebook itself.

Facebook functions by collecting incredible amount of personal data from its users. By using all the personal data, Facebook is able to track the online activity of the users and so they could target their preferences and give them what they want to see online and it improve the quality and the accuracy of the advertisement to the correct group of person. However, Facebook gathers personal information about users, both with and without their consent, which can be used against them in other ways. Facebook’s goal is to get the users to share their information and data about what they like and what they do not like, so from the online activities of the users, they can serve more relevant advertisements and it helps the advertisers a lot, and at the same time Facebook can charge higher fees to the advertisers. Collecting personal data can be positive when it is providing advantages for the users to save time on searching for what they want as the suitable advertisement will popped up before they search for it, it can be one of the most effective way to build up the reputation of the business and attract more users. Nevertheless, collecting data without consent can be bad as well and it may bring trouble to the business if the user decided to sue them.

Q2: What is the relationship of privacy to Facebook’s business model?

The lesser the privacy Facebook offers to the users, the more valuable it business model is. This is due to Facebook is highly depending on collecting the personal data to gain their reputation and build up the business and make it stronger with the huge information base. By providing more privacy settings to its users, the less data Facebook can collect, stores and provides to the advertisers. It makes Facebook’s business model less valuable because the advertisements are not able to be spread out accurately by targeting the user’s preferences.

Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg mentioned that people want the world to be more open and connected. He wishes that the world can be more open and connected for sure as his company stands to make more money in this environment.

Q3: Describe the weaknesses of Facebook’s privacy policies and features. What management, organization, and technology factors have contributed to those weaknesses?

Management:

93% of people believe that Internet companies should be forced to ask for permission before using their personal information and 72% want the ability to opt out of online tracking. Executives and managers must develop policies and procedures that address those concerns at the same time they are developing a competitive strategy to effectively use personal information to increase the company’s value to advertisers. Privacy advocate groups, for instances the Electronic Privacy Information Center want Facebook to restore more robust privacy settings from 2009. If it does that, some of its value to advertisers will be diminished.

Organization:

Facebook’s value is their ability to get the personal information of its users and how it helps to improve the advertisement by the advertisers and so they could attract more advertisers. Facebook should take action to solve the privacy issues and concerns by the users instead of avoiding the problem although by providing more privacy settings may affect their business.

Technology:

Facebook has plenty experiences when it comes to privacy violations and missteps that raise doubts about whether it should be responsible for the personal data of hundreds of millions of people. Facebook has settled lawsuits with the Federal Trade Commission in which they were barred from misrepresenting the privacy or security of its users’ personal information. Besides, it has also come under fire for collecting information about users who are not even logged into Facebook or have accounts with the company. Moreover, it keeps track of activity on other sites that have “Like” buttons or “recommendations” widgets, and records the time of your visit and your IP address when you visit a site, regardless of whether or not you click on them.

Q4: Will Facebook be able to have a successful business model without invading privacy? Explain your answer. Are there any measures Facebook could take to make this possible?

Yes, Facebook may be able to have a successful business model without invading privacy. Facebook is depending on collecting the personal information about its users and sell it to the advertisers; this business might be hard to survive if they stop this function. Therefore, what they can do now is to improve the function but not eliminate it. Facebook could try to make up some of the lost revenue by charging users a premium fee for the company to not collect as much information and restore a higher level of privacy to those who are willing to pay for it.Facebook can also allow users to view all the data it collects on them and allow users to delete information that the users deem necessary. So if Facebook continues to wish to use the information that people post on their accounts a clear distinction must be made to the users about what they are using the information for and what information they will  be using in order to reduce the legal risks and solidify the legality of their advertising.

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