Facebook: "We won't collect your data - in 'new ways.'"
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Meta has published an article detailing why its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy have been rewritten. According to the company, it’s now easier for users to “understand and reflect” on products and services offered by Meta. And indeed, Meta’s Privacy Center now has a more user-friendly interface.
But then the article tries to reassure users that, despite the latest changes, Meta won’t collect personal data “in new ways.” Was this supposed to mean a good thing? Should users be relieved?
Well, Meta is still Facebook and we shouldn’t expect too much from this company when it comes to privacy. The Verge compared the old policy with the new one and indeed the company’s argument that they won’t collect data in new ways is true. However, this doesn’t change the fact that they will continue with many other bad practices in this regard.
As explained by John Davisson of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, “Facebook already funnels user data at industrial scale into a vast targeted advertising ecosystem.” For Davisson, it’s “unrealistic” to believe that Facebook users will read dozens of pages about how the company is handling their data, but of course Meta will try to make it seem like the company is now more concerned about privacy.
In other words, nothing has changed, which is not good since we’re talking about Facebook.
I have a FB account. One. It is linked to a gmail account that is unique and that email is used for nothing else. Is that enough? I dunno.
