Facebook is failing to protect user data. Facebook decided not to notify over 530 million of its users whose personal data was lifted in a breach sometime before August 2019 and was recently made available in a public database (April 2021).
According to NPR.org, “Phone numbers, full names, locations, some email addresses, and other details from user profiles were posted to an amateur hacking forum.” This contains data from users in 106 different countries. The information did not include people’s financial or health information or passwords, Facebook said. However, the data leak still leaves users vulnerable. Scammers can do an incredible amount even with the little information they have. Especially since the two-factor authentication, where users use their phone number to authenticate their accounts and get alerts from Facebook.
According to BBC News, “An internal Facebook email, accidentally sent to Belgium-based Data News, ha revealed its strategy for dealing with the leaking of account details from 533 million users.” It suggests that Facebook expected more of these incidents, and their plan was to frame it as an industry problem that is a normal occurrence. Facebook said that the memo was genuine, and they are taking extra precautions to prevent this from happening in the future. Facebook stated that this data is old, however it now faces a probe from the Irish data commissioner. It may have broken General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules, and there is a mass legal action from affected EU citizens. These people had their user information leaked, as well as phone numbers. Even a couple of years after the incident, Facebook’s users are still having issues caused by this major leak.
In conclusion, Facebook is prioritizing themselves over its users. Facebook has not claimed any wrongdoing, stating that all the information scrapped from the site is publicly available. However, this is not an excuse for the leak. Leaking hundreds of millions of phone numbers is a violation of users’ privacy, as well as a violation of national security.
ESCAPE Analysis NPR.org
E: Evidence – Do the facts hold up?
This source has a lot of verifiable information. They take information from Facebook itself, the NSA (National Security Agency), and multiple cybersecurity experts.
S: Source – Who made this, and can I trust them?
This source is an article published by NPR.org. This source is trustworthy, NPR is an extremely popular and accurate source of information. They include citations in their work and include multiple sources of information in each article.
C: Context – What’s the big picture?
The big picture here is that in a time where cybersecurity is becoming more and important, huge social media platforms are failing to protect user information. Not only do people risk losing their accounts, but they also risk their own privacy and safety.
A: Audience – Who is the intended audience?
The intended audience is anyone with a Facebook account and anyone who has invested in Facebook itself. This leak influences everyone involved with the platform, whether it is a Facebook account or whether you are tied in financially.
P: Purpose – Why was this made?
This article was written to inform the public about what exactly happened with the leak, and to provide more information on the subject. It is also to spread awareness, making users aware of the possible consequences.
E: Execution – How is this information presented?
The tone of this article is more of a critique. The article is not trying to protect Facebook in any way, it is trying to inform on the situation and provide more background to give users a better understanding of what they are dealing with.
ESCAPE Analysis BBC.com
E: Evidence – Do the facts hold up?
The facts hold up with this source. It contains much of the same statistics as the NPR article and gathers information from many of the same places. It contains sources like Facebook itself, and GDPR.
S: Source – Who made this, and can I trust them?
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56815478
BBC News is a very trustworthy source of information. They are a very neutral source of information, considering both sides of each argument. They included statements from Facebook itself and communities around the world to paint the whole picture.
C: Context – What’s the big picture?
The big picture in this article is that Facebook is putting its reputation over its users. This does not give them the best look, considering Facebook had hundreds of millions of users from across the world. They want people to have more knowledge of the situation so that they can make more informed decisions.
A: Audience – Who is the intended audience?
The intended audience is anyone with a Facebook account and anyone who has invested in Facebook itself. This leak influences everyone involved with the platform, whether it is a Facebook account or whether you are tied in financially.
P: Purpose – Why was this made?
This article is written to inform the public and all Facebook users. I think that the purpose of this is also to criticize Facebook for putting themselves first over its users.
E: Execution – How is this information presented?
The tone of the article is to talk down to Facebook, they want to bring up issues that most people do not think about it. Half of the article talks about how Facebook prioritizes themselves, which clearly implies a specific tone when reading.