On the second day of the visit to the Energy and Commerce Committee of the American House of Representatives, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, had to deal with the subject of privacy.
The social network does not come out very well. One of the most significant passages of yesterday's hearing turns out to be the answer given by the founder and CEO of Facebook, to the deputy Ben Lujan, representative of New Mexico.
Zuckerberg states: "In general, we collect information about people not registered on Facebook for security reasons" and the MP almost loses his temper, answering annoyed: "I am surprised that we have not talked about it much today. You say everyone controls their data. But you collect data about people who are not registered and who have not signed any privacy agreement. We have to fix this ".
But how does Facebook actually take possession of these precious and delicate personal data?
The mechanism seems to be simple but inexorable: starting from a user's address book, Facebook records the name and number of a person, even if not registered in the social network. But this person, in the column of another, may have associated with that same number other data, or a photo. And those data, like the email or the name, may have been used to put a like on a web page, providing other details: so in the end Facebook collects all the information available that refer to the same identifiers and builds a profile of that person even if he is not officially registered with the social network. This, at least apparently, to optimize and "intelligently" deliver advertising messages to various users while browsing the web.
When New York State Democrat MP Paul Tonko emphasizes "a business model in which users are the product," Zuckerberg says, "I'm afraid you're only acting because you're worried about your brand" , the CEO of Facebook answers: "If we have information regarding visits to" other sites "you have access to this information and delete it".
Privacy, as it was supposed to be, was the central topic of yesterday's hearing. Many of the questions asked by the members of the Commission have been on the subject concerning the new European standards.
Zuckerberg was asked if his social network is ready for the entry into force of new European rules designed to enhance consumer protection and the CEO's response was dry: "We are working on it".
The new regulations that have been mentioned, which will come into force next 25 May in all member states of the European Union, are listed in the General Data Protection Regulation, that is, the provision that increases the responsibilities on how the information of the Europeans are used, preserved and shared by private groups and the public administration.
From a regulatory point of view, referring to Europe, Mark Zuckerberg had declared: "I believe that they do things well", intrinsically highlighting the possibility of adopting regulations similar to the ones to be implemented in the old continent in the US.
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