Facebook spied on private messages of Americans who questioned 2020 election | Hacker News Reader

Facebook spied on private messages of Americans who questioned 2020 election

nypost.com

129 pointsTechBro861552 comments

We all know, or should know, that all big tech companies violate privacy in one of myriad ways. Facebook, Google, et al are a criminal cartel, selling its users’ data to the highest bidder. When a foreign country or an individual does what these companies do, it’s hacking and considered a crime. When Big Tech does it, no big deal.

Man, it's been a long, long time, since the Qwest CEO stood up to the Feds on a hunting expedition[1]... I don't think anyone has had the guts to say no since then, although Apple put up some pretense when asked for access to iPhone data. Coincidentally, of course, as things are wont to happen, the CEO subsequently got caught up in inside trading...

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qwest#Refusal_for_NSA_spying

Facebook and Google don't sell user data. They sell ad impressions, leveraging user data to decide which ads to show, but it's not like you can just buy a user's data from them. In fact, they've gotten much stingier with ways to get their users' data. You used to be able to get a ton of user and connection data for free just by using Facebook's API (with the user's permission) but it's much harder now and for some types of data, it's no longer available at all.

I think they still sell to data aggregators like Acxiom. Nearly everyone in the country apparently does

Not a criminal cartel, just an extension of the intelligence services in the US. Surveillance, censorship, propaganda, behavior modification, globally over billions of people.

The govt outsources to private parties that which is illegal for it to do directly. Some Italian dude coined a term for this sort of merger of corporate and government power in the early 20th century....

I live in the USA so when the DMV or cops engage in the market of personal data, that's just Tuesday. I am all for legislation & enforcement which destroys the entire personal data market.

It feels like a deliberate conflation of what a "private message" means.

Many FB users assume "only me and the recipient(s) can see". Similarly, "private group" on social media platforms. "Private" - you keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means. :)

These are all misnomers, and more non-E2EE people need to recognize and understand it. In as much as I dislike the dismissive nature of the saying, it is true - "I can explain it to you, but I cannot understand it for you."

Occurrences like these will make understanding happen.

I think I am OK with that.

so they could figure out who to amplify for engagement and thus increased profit?

they are Facebook's favorite users after all

Is there any other source than the NYpost?

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