Facebook did not receive such a nice present from the Dutch government for its twentieth birthday. Sources from The Hague say that the government is considering a complete departure from the social medium. There are major concerns about how Facebook handles data. What does this mean for the citizen?
There are plenty of objections to Facebook. The medium’s algorithms lead to echo chambers or filter bubbles. There are hate speeches and a lot of fake news. It is too addictive and potentially harmful to children. But that is not why our government is considering a retreat. This revolves around the way Facebook collects information about us, what happens to it and where the data is stored.
Law for the protection of personal information
It can’t come as a surprise to most internet users. Concerns about Facebook have been around for years. For example, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) already sounded the alarm in 2017. Facebook did not comply with the Personal Data Protection Act. The company has received many heavy fines.
Privacy expert Arnold Roosendaal wrote an article in 2010 about how the social medium collects information. People who do not have a Facebook page were also followed. “That was adjusted at the time, but they may have continued with it later,” says Roosendaal. “They are not transparent. It is difficult to estimate what information they collect and what they do with it. This makes it almost impossible to take action against it.”
The government uses Facebook as a means of communication because we are all there together. It is still by far the largest social medium with approximately 10 million Dutch users. “The government reaches a lot of people through Facebook,” says Roosendaal.
“But ultimately it is a strange channel for the government to use for their communication with the citizen. You enter into a relationship of dependence with parent company Meta for providing basic information. As long as the government cannot guarantee that citizens’ rights are respected, it is a good choice to stay away.”
Ads
At the end of last year, Meta was prohibited from collecting personal data for advertisements based on users’ surfing behavior. That affects Facebook’s revenue model. The American tech giant can thus show very targeted advertisements. Advertisers are willing to pay a lot of money for that. Facebook quickly came up with a paid subscription. Anyone who wants to continue to use the medium for free agrees to personalized advertisements. This does not yet solve the problem for the AP. “Privacy is a fundamental right that everyone must protect equally,” says the regulator.
Facebook has been sending data from Dutch people to American servers for years. This would also have violated privacy. The company never made it clear what the data was used for. In any case, permission to use the data for advertisements was never requested. “That shows how much the company is violating the rights of consumers,” says a spokesperson for the Consumers’ Association.
The organization does not advise Dutch people to say goodbye to the medium. “We just try to give them the best possible advice, after which they can make their own decision. We think Facebook is a great medium that brings people into contact with each other. Despite our objections, we still use it to get and stay in touch with consumers.”
Fuses
“Stopping using Facebook seems like an easy solution,” says Roosendaal. “But you can still access the Facebook pages via links. It is very difficult to avoid completely.”
The Facebook expert advises people to be conscious of their personal information. “You can do something about your settings, such as blocking cookies in your browser. Then you make it more difficult for Facebook to build a profile of you. But in the end, you potentially share everything you post with the whole world. You have no control over that. Even if you delete something from Facebook, it will remain in their databases.”
Why do people continue to post their photos and videos on Facebook? “Because they do not consciously experience what the disadvantages are,” thinks Roosendaal. “Personalized advertisements don’t bother you that much. You don’t have any nasty, unpleasant experiences.” That could change. “There are many developments going on deepfakes , counterfeits made with artificial intelligence (AI). Malicious parties can use your photos and videos. Until then it remains abstract.”
Facebook could not be reached for comment on Monday. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the social network, is in any case cautious. He hides the faces of his two daughters on Instagram.