Member Avatar for happygeek

This coming Sunday marks the one year anniversary of the Cambridge Analytica scandal story breaking and engulfing Facebook. Does anyone think Facebook, and in particular Zuckerberg himself, have learned anything other than they are both apparently immune from whatever smelly stuff hits the fan?

Edited by happygeek
  • 4 Contributors
  • 5 Replies
  • 3K Views
  • 20 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by happygeek

Dani AI

Generated

asked whether Facebook/Zuckerberg learned anything. There were real consequences after March 2018: in July 2019 the FTC hit Facebook with a record $5B penalty and a 20‑year order that forces independent board‑level privacy oversight and requires Zuckerberg to certify compliance quarterly, among other restrictions. That goes well beyond a PR response. FTC order summary. In the UK, the ICO imposed the maximum pre‑GDPR fine of GBP 500k, which Facebook ultimately paid without admitting liability. ICO history note. And for users, a nationwide class action led to a $725M settlement approved in 2023; Meta is still defending that deal on appeal as of Feb. 7, 2025. Reuters coverage.

Did practices change? Facebook shipped concrete controls like Off‑Facebook Activity, which lets you view and disconnect data shared by sites and apps; you can also disable future activity. It is not perfect, but it is a user‑visible change prompted by the scandal. Off‑Facebook Activity. For anyone catching up like , quick hygiene: review Off‑Facebook Activity, prune old app permissions, set Ad Preferences to limit categories, and periodically download your data so you know what is stored.

is right that there are many Cambridge Analyticas. The bigger shift since 2019 is the regulatory perimeter around data brokers. California’s CPRA created a dedicated privacy regulator (CPPA) and a public Data Broker Registry, making it easier to see who trades in consumer data and to exercise rights. About the CPPA and Data Broker Registry. These moves do not end the problem, but they do raise the cost of getting caught and make it harder to hide.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

I think the only thing they learned is how to prevent getting caught again.

commented: If (caught) get hard2catch; +0
Member Avatar for rproffitt

What we've learned is that there are other Cambridge Analytica's out there.

As RJ noted they learned there is little downside to such use.

Member Avatar for Dani

Sorry, I must have been hiding under a rock. I'm not familiar with Cambridge Analytica??

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

You can find details here. Basically Facebook & election hanky-panky.

Member Avatar for happygeek

The tl;dr is

The Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal was a major political scandal in early 2018 when it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica had harvested the personal data of millions of people's Facebook profiles without their consent and used it for political purposes. It has been described as a watershed moment in the public understanding of personal data and precipitated a massive fall in Facebook's stock price and calls for tighter regulation of tech companies' use of data.

Wikipedia

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.