By Michaella Lesieur, Staff Writer
The scandal of Facebook has sent users in an up roar as Mark Zuckerberg did all he could to calm down users in regards to the data sharing with Cambridge Analytic that has uncovered more information in the preceding weeks.
A few weeks back an article was written on behalf of the scandal and recently the social media network is reaching out to users who have been affected by the leakage. At this point it leaves the question is this even relevant now?
I mean personal information has already been received and there is no taking it back no matter how hard Facebook tries. They can reach out to as many people as they want, but how is this going to solve the problem?
Yes, we all know this is a huge mistake and mistakes happen, but this is one that affects multitudes of people. This is not just an issue you can wash your hands of. This is a business they should have plans intact for the safety of others. You are dealing with billions of people’s personal information, in which you do not want to take lightly.
This is a poor mistake by Facebook, but the message could provide them with some stability, but I don’t think much. If I were affected by the data breach I would want to know, so they are paying users a small sign of respect. Although, the message should have been sent out far earlier, it is a no brainer. Right, now I think Zuckerberg is trying to balance himself.
This could be taken in one of two ways either a. Facebook is trying to gain the trust back from their users and save themselves, so their numbers do not decline or b. They are wanting to help those that were affected.
One has to wonder what this message being sent actually says? Will the letter address a solution that will gain the trust back or is it simply an “I am sorry,” note? I mean as a Facebook user one should know that issues such as the Cambridge Analytic can happen, our information is not always 100% safe. This is why you must be so careful.
I personally do not trust Facebook, I think it can be both a great tool and one that can lead to disaster. It is great for connecting with family and friends, but one needs to be able to self-control what they keep on their page knowing that this can happen. At this point I am not sure what their tactic and intended message is. One thing I do know is that once people start receiving this message they are going to be upset, which is going to start another flair up making me unaware of where this is going to go.
It is upsetting to know that Facebook would allow this to happen, it makes you question just how safe it is and what they are going to do to fix something that should have been tested in the first place? They should have had this business plan in place long before.
Zuckerberg, will most certainly have more questions to answer as we head into the next couple weeks. I mean how is anything going to make up for what has already been done? You have to think that is their personal information and if placing yourself in their shoes how would you feel right now? It’s as bad as your best friend sharing your secrets with your town.
It is hard to say what the next step will be once this phase is complete; however, I do think it is going to upset users even more. More and more people are using Snapchat and Instagram now and I predict that in the preceding months there will be a great number of people straying away from Facebook or deleting their accounts and moving to other social media platforms.