The Security Scandal in Facebook - Essay Example

Facebook scandal

Introduction

Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms, with millions of users worldwide and who interact freely at any time. Many activities are going on in Facebook, as different users have different intentions and interests on social media platforms. When joining Facebook, there is personal information that the individual has to fill in his or her profile, enabling him or her to access the platform. There has been a Facebook version where an individual can access information about another individual on Facebook without any security details required to access the information. As a result, a scandal faced the Facebook Company concerning the security of the clients’ information contained in it. There was a time when massive hacking of the Facebook system and data of millions of customers was retrieved and used for the wrong purpose, something that made Facebook face much trouble in solving the problem and explaining what exactly happened. In this paper, I will address the scandal that faced the Facebook Company in 2018, which involved the misuse of the customer’s data and how the case was, including the solutions that the company made and comparing them with my recommendation on the possible solutions which could be made.

Situation

One of the biggest scandals that the Facebook Company faced was in March 2018, where there were reports from the New York Times and the guardian claiming that the global science research was involved in taking personal information from millions of customers. The incidence of the taking of customers’ data was taking place back in 2013, where the research company involved in that action did not obtain any explicit consent from the customers, which means the Facebook users whose information was taken were not informed of the same. Therefore they did not know whether their information had been taken for a particular company (Fuller, 2019).

the occurrence of the incident of taking Facebook users’ data was made possible because the Facebook version used allowed the user to access the information of all the friends in the Facebook freely and without them being notified that someone is accessing their information. As a result, the research company got the opportunity to get all the information it required from about 87 million Facebook users. After that, global science research sold the data to the Cambridge Analytica. The exact number of Facebook users Cambridge Analytica used to perform their actions was about thirty thousand people as per the evidence produced. Cambridge Analytica used the data to create some advertisements and was highly targeted to persuade the users to vote for Brexit and Trump in the elections, which were being conducted during that time. That was a significant violation of Facebook users, and it was to be termed as participating in electoral malpractice. The Facebook Company would be sued for failing to protect its customers' data, resulting in other negative impacts to both the users and the American government (Formentin et al. 2017).

Background

The scandal mentioned above concerning Facebook and Cambridge Analytica and global science research greatly impacted different dimensions. The time before the New York Times raised the alarm about the issues, the customers whose information has been used were not even aware that their information was being used for the unintended purpose. From that, it was of a significant impact on the company as some of the customers started to withdraw from the platform, fearing that fraudsters could use their information in initiating theft and other cyber threats. Also, the scandal made the company spend along of money. I am proving to the customers that their information would be safe, and no one would access and misuse the information as it was witnessed before. Mark Zuckerberg was even called in the congress to answer some of the scandal's questions, where he faced a hard time explaining what happened and why. It was not as per the election laws to use someone’s information without their consent to persuade or influence her to vote for a confident leader. Therefore, Facebook was held responsible for failing to secure the customers’ information to prevent such incidences from occurring (Fuller, 2019).

Assessment.

The following are some of the solutions that I would have recommended the Facebook company to take in addressing the 2018 scandal. They would first present themselves in a fair view to their clients and explain what had happened. It was later found that some unnecessary information tracking technologies were used to steal information concerning Facebook users. I would also advise the managers to reveal the scandal's fair view to their customers to ensure transparency. This would have also led to the increased confidence of the clients of this company to their company. Furthermore, I would advise the company to investigate the real persons involved with the working of the scandal and report them to the public. All these would retrieve the real information and the key persons who resulted in the scandal (Tuttle, 2018).

The company could also have considered retrieving the lost data from its clients. They would also assure their clients of the safety of their data and install security devices. For this solution's success, the security devices would be implemented so that only the users would access their necessary information. In case another party tried to view that information, a system would be set to signal to the managers of an unwarranted attack or access. The company would also consider using the causing parties to the court or even fire them on course effect. Furthermore, I would advise the Facebook Company to consider using public relations measures to restore the customer's view of it by showing the scandal's right view. It could also use some of the customers' compensation measures affected by the scandal (Frederick & Pegoraro, 2018).

Some of the company's measures in addressing the Facebook scandal of 2018 include approaching congress to answer questions. Through this, the company did further investigations to assure the public of its non-involving acts in this scandal. However, these measures were not enough to ensure the safety of their clients. The security devices were not installed as expected. The company did not use as much as possible of the public relations measures. Therefore, more still needs to be done by the company in addressing this scandal of 2018 (Brown, 2020).

Recommendations

As a psychologist, I would recommend the Facebook Company to undertake some of the measures concerning its 2018 scandal. Firstly, I would recommend the company present an unbiased view of the affair on an investigation to its clients. The company should also consider availing itself to its clients through notifications on the issue. Also, it should consider retrieving the lost information about its clients. The Facebook Company should also assure its clients of security of their necessary information through installing the security gadgets. In case of any attempted bullying, the Facebook Company should consider informing its customers.

Furthermore, the management of the Facebook Company should apologize to the public for the 2018 scandal. It should also promise to keep in touch with the clients and any other issues arising thereof. The company should improve on its security devices and alerts to track any attempted stealing of information. The suing of the parties involved in the scandal should also be undertaken to improve transparency (Frederick & Pegoraro, 2018).

Conclusion

Therefore, the Facebook Company’s scandal of 2018 is one of the greatest scandals it has ever faced. It involved stealing the clients' information that was used in voting for trump via the Cambridge Analytica company. This company's situation was very tough that Mark Zuckerberg had to approach the grass and answer the questions thereof. Some of the meaebook ComCompany's measures address this issue included conducting investigations and further protecting the clients' information. However, according to the assessment conducted, these measures are not yet enough. I would recommend this company improve the security devices to save their customers' data from any inappropriate use. Also, it should consider improving its public relations by ensuring the transparency of its actions. The Facebook Company should also promote public relations with its customers to restore their confidence (Brown, 2020).