Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has been slammed as 'shameful' after defending the firm's controversial research app and claiming teens 'consented' to having their online activity monitored.
The social media giant has come under fire from all sides for the latest in a seemingly neverending series of privacy disasters, with pundits describing the firm as a 'criminal enterprise' in light of the latest revelations.
It raises new questions over how much Sandberg and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who are already facing calls from investors to resign over previous scandals, knew about the firm's activities
In an interview with CNBC, Sandberg claimed Facebook pulled the app after it 'realized we weren't in compliance with the rules on [Apple's] platform.'
However, Apple says it removed the app because it violated its data collection policies - and also banned Facebook from using any of its internal apps.
The move has since caused internal chaos at Facebook, where staffers have taken to internal discussion groups to voice their frustration over being unable to use employee-only iOS apps.
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As Facebook employees are reeling from the company's latest crisis, COO Sheryl Sandberg defended the controversial research app in an interview with CNBC, saying users 'consented'
Facebook took advantage of Apple's enterprise developer certificate, which enables companies to distribute apps internally, to create an app that paid users as young as 13 to share their phone activity with Facebook.
Sandberg emphasized that teens who took part in the 'research project' knew what they were getting into.
'I want to be clear what this is. This is a Facebook research app,' Sandberg told CNBC.
'It's completely opt-in. There is a rigorous consent flow and people are compensated.
'...The important thing is that people involved in that research project knew they were involved and consented,' she added.
Many are viewing the debacle as the latest example of a growing 'cold war' between tech companies.
'I find this behavior shameful. Taking advantage of people who do not understand the value of the data they generate,' Claudiu Musat, director of research for Data, Analytics and AI at Swisscom, wrote in a tweet.
'Targeting kids of all people! As a parent I'm appalled. I am so happy I stopped using Facebook years ago.'
Another expert said Facebook's actions with the 'research' app were 'beyond the pale.'
'I used to think a reasonable response to Facebook was simple 'break them up,''' David Heinemeir Hansson, a Danish programmer and partner of web application company Basecamp, said in a tweet.
'But maybe the real solution here is more akin to 'shut them down.' Their incessant preying on kids and teenagers is beyond pale.
'From 5-year old 'whales' to bribing 13-year olds for spying rights,' he added.
Longtime Apple pundit John Gruber said the discovery of Facebook's 'research' app reinforced his belief that the company is akin to a 'criminal enterprise.'
'No regular developer would get away with this,' Gruber wrote on his blog 'Daring Fireball.'
'Facebook is betting that their apps are too popular, that they can do what they want and Apple has to sit back and take it.
'I keep saying Facebook is a criminal enterprise, and I'm not exaggerating.
'Sometimes a bully needs to be punched in the face, not just told to knock it off,' Gruber added.
Employees quickly became angered after Apple's crackdown on its controversial 'research' app led to it also blocking internal apps used by thousands of staffers.
Apple yanked Facebook's app permissions after a TechCrunch report found the company was skirting the iPhone maker's App Store policies to distribute a research app that paid teens in exchange for letting them track their smartphone activity.
As a result, Facebook employees were unable to access internal iOS apps, such as beta versions of the Facebook app, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
They were also unable to use employee apps for 'seeing the day's lunch schedule' or book shuttles to and from work.
The move ended up hampering staffers' productivity, as they were blocked from opening internal test versions of core apps.
With staffers unable to access restricted versions of these apps, they were forced to download public versions from the App Store instead.
Facebook employees are furious after Apple's crackdown on its controversial 'research' app led to it also blocking internal iOS apps used by thousands of staffers
'This is probably one of the worse things that can happen to the company internally,' one Facebook employee told Business Insider.
Apple's decision also meant Facebook employees couldn't do basic things like use Ride, the company's app for securing rides on its Menlo, Park campus, as well as Mobile Home, which posts updates for employees.
Many Facebook employees began to vent their frustration in internal discussion groups, with some chastising Facebook for the chaos.
Others blamed Apple, saying the company was 'out to get' them.
'We can't aspire for good press while continuing to not play by the rules,' one employee said, according to Business Insider.
'Self-inflicted wound. When are we gonna learn?,' another remarked.
'FYI: it's total chaos over inside [Facebook] internal channels right now,' New York Times reporter Mike Isaac tweeted.
'Half the people are like 'uhhhh why do none of my apps work.' Truly amazing.'
Facebook said it was 'working closely with Apple' to bring the employee-only iOS apps back online, according to Business Insider.
Facebook has admitted to paying young people to install a 'social media research' app which monitors their web activity, according to reports. Apple banned the app, formerly known as Onavo VPN, from the app store because it violated its data collection policies
The company confirmed to several outlets on Wednesday that its internal apps were down as a result of the move.
It's unclear if the internal apps have been brought back online as of Thursday morning.
Many pointed out that, due to the debacle, Facebook may be subject to an extra review process when it submits apps to the App Store in the future.
'We designed our Enterprise Developer Program solely for the internal distribution of apps within an organization,' Apple told the Guardian.
'Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple.
'Any developer using their enterprise certificates to distribute apps to consumers will have their certificates revoked, which is what we did in this case to protect our users and their data.'
FACEBOOK'S PRIVACY DISASTERS
Facebook in late September disclosed that it had been hit by its worst ever data breach, affecting 50 million users - including those of Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg.
Attackers exploited the site's 'View As' feature, which lets people see what their profiles look like to other users.
The unknown attackers took advantage of a feature in the code called 'Access Tokens,' to take over people's accounts, potentially giving hackers access to private messages, photos and posts - although Facebook said there was no evidence that had been done.
The hackers also tried to harvest people's private information, including name, sex and hometown, from Facebook's systems.
Facebook said it doesn't yet know if information from the affected accounts has been misused or accessed, and is working with the FBI to conduct further investigations.
However, Mark Zuckerberg assured users that passwords and credit card information was not accessed.
Facebook says it has found no evidence 'so far' that hackers broke into third-party apps after a data breach exposed 50 million users (stock image)
As a result of the breach, the firm logged roughly 90 million people out of their accounts earlier today as a security measure.
Facebook made headlines earlier this year after the data of 87 million users was improperly accessed by Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy.
The disclosure has prompted government inquiries into the company's privacy practices across the world, and fueled a '#deleteFacebook' movement among consumers.
Communications firm Cambridge Analytica had offices in London, New York, Washington, as well as Brazil and Malaysia.
The company boasts it can 'find your voters and move them to action' through data-driven campaigns and a team that includes data scientists and behavioural psychologists.
'Within the United States alone, we have played a pivotal role in winning presidential races as well as congressional and state elections,' with data on more than 230 million American voters, Cambridge Analytica claims on its website.
The company profited from a feature that meant apps could ask for permission to access your own data as well as the data of all your Facebook friends.
The data firm suspended its chief executive, Alexander Nix (pictured), after recordings emerged of him making a series of controversial claims, including boasts that Cambridge Analytica had a pivotal role in the election of Donald Trump
This meant the company was able to mine the information of 87 million Facebook users even though just 270,000 people gave them permission to do so.
This was designed to help them create software that can predict and influence voters' choices at the ballot box.
The data firm suspended its chief executive, Alexander Nix, after recordings emerged of him making a series of controversial claims, including boasts that Cambridge Analytica had a pivotal role in the election of Donald Trump.
This information is said to have been used to help the Brexit campaign in the UK.
It has also suffered several previous issues.
2013, Facebook disclosed a software flaw that exposed 6 million users' phone numbers and email addresses to unauthorized viewers for a year, while a technical glitch in 2008 revealed confidential birth-dates on 80 million Facebook users' profiles.
https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/31/sheryl-sandberg-defends-facebooks-controversial-research-app-after-employee-chaos-inside-firm/
Main photo article Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has been slammed as ‘shameful’ after defending the firm’s controversial research app and claiming teens ‘consented’ to having their online activity monitored.
The social media giant has come under fire from all sides for the latest in a ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/01/31/17/9236864-6653869-image-a-14_1548954147705.jpg
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