What ethical issues have they experienced?
Facebook has gone through many ethical issues during their existence. Starting in late 2007, Facebook tracked user’surchases adn shared it with their friends without their consent. This happened during the growth stage of the company. In 2011 Facebook faces another privacy issue from the FTC. They settled charges regarding not keeping their privacy promise to consumers. Specifically, they were making private information public without warning users. Facebook falsely claimed third party apps were only able to access the data that was crucial to operation. This was not the case-these apps could access almost all of a user’s personal data. This occured during the maturity stage of the company. From 2013 to 2018 Facebook would face six more incidents regarding privacy issues, bugs leaking information, etc. In most of these instances, Facebook’s response was a simple apology. Other times resulted in a policy change, compliance, or notifying only those who were affected (Delete Facebook Movement Grows Amid Brewing Backlash, 2018).
Has this affected their consumer engagement?
In response to privacy concerns and other ethical issues regarding the platform. It was revealed Cambridge Analytica collected private information to understand and influence voter behavior. This lead to unrest among consumers, many threatening to leave Facebook and no longer trusting the platform. This distrust eventually resulted in a nosedive in Facebook stocks, low engagement, and trending hashtags promoting users boycotting the platform. With that said, it seems that after each scandal, the upset consumers die down until the next scandal (Mintel, 2023).
What is Facebook’s response?
In most of these issues, Facebook’s response was a simple apology. Other times resulted in a policy change, compliance, or notifying only those who were affected (Delete Facebook Movement Grows Amid Brewing Backlash, 2018).Rather than a simple apology or settlement, Facebook needs to work on their transparency and policies. They should not be allowing third parties to have any information that the user is not aware of. They should not be making private information public without warning. This should be an app that can be trusted by all users, and frankly it is not. I suggest regular external audits ensuring they are abiding by policies and remianing transparent. These audits would rebuild trust in the company, as users are find comfort knowing an external source is ensuring data privacy.
Sources:
Delete Facebook movement grows amid brewing backlash. (2018, March 24). [Video]. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/timeline-facebook-s-privacy-issues-its-responses-n859651
Mintel. (2023, April 24). Facebook faces more than privacy concerns | Mintel. https://www.mintel.com/insights/technology/facebook-faces-more-than-privacy-concerns/
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