Swarajya Logo
Swarajya Logo
Politics States Economy Society Business Culture Infra Defence World Books Ideas Science Technology Heritage Archives Legal Movies Sports
  • Our Views
    Politics States Economy Society Business Culture Infra Defence World Books Ideas Science Technology Heritage Archives Legal Movies Sports
  • Magazine
  • Store

About Swarajya

Swarajya is a publication by Kovai Media Private Limited.

Swarajya - a big tent for liberal right of centre discourse that reaches out, engages and caters to the new India.

editor@swarajyamag.com

Useful Links

  • About Us
  • Subscriptions Support
  • Editorial Philosophy
  • Press Kit
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Code of Conduct
  • Plagiarism Policy
  • Refund & Cancellation Policy

Useful Links

  • About Us
  • Subscriptions Support
  • Editorial Philosophy
  • Press Kit
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Code of Conduct
  • Plagiarism Policy
  • Refund & Cancellation Policy

Participate

  • Contact Us
  • Write for us
  • Style Guide
  • Jobs

Stay Connected

  • Artboard 2 Copy 6Created with Sketch.
    Artboard 2 Copy 10Created with Sketch.
    Artboard 2 Copy 7Created with Sketch.
    Artboard 2 Copy 9Created with Sketch.
  • Andriod Logo
  • IOS Logo

Technology

Delete Facebook. Not.

Arnab RaySaturday, March 24, 2018 7:34 pm IST
An error message appears on the Facebook home page on a laptop computer screen. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
An error message appears on the Facebook home page on a laptop computer screen. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
An error message appears on the Facebook home page on a laptop computer screen. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
  • In light of the data breach, Facebook users are now in a hurry to delete their accounts.
  • But, wait! Surely, everyone knew about the sharing of data and the potential for its (mis)use?
  • A few days ago, I came across a picture, courtesy NDTV, of a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) protest somewhere in a metropolis of privilege, where we have a tiger carrying a sign that says “eating meat contributes to species extinction”. Before I could wrap my head around the irony of that image, I see, floating on my Facebook news feed, #DeleteFacebook, yes on my Facebook feed, people using Facebook asking people not to use Facebook, and suddenly there is too much irony in my life.

    Now of course, all this talk of boycotting Facebook comes from the whole Cambridge Analytica (CA) revelations, CA being a data analytics company that allegedly “illegitimately” used data scraped off from Facebook users to microtarget key demographics in the US (United States) elections.

    I am sorry, but what part of the recent “scandal” about Cambridge Analytica is the scandal? That Facebook sells your data? I am sorry, but have you not heard of the first commandment of modern business—that if you do not pay for a product, you are the product?

    Who do you think pays for Facebook’s valuation, their stock prices, and the salary of that friend you are jealous about because he works for Facebook?

    You ! Your data, your preferences. That is where Facebook’s core value proposition is, the ability to provide “hooks” for analytics engines, of course if you cross Facebook’s palms with silver.

    Surely, you cannot expect them to provide you with a platform for sharing your brain-droppings, totally gratis, now do you?

    This is Facebook we are talking about. Not NREGA.

    But privacy settings, you say. Privacy settings… yes, so what? In case you haven’t figured this out, the privacy settings on Facebook exist to protect your data from other users, like your ex sneaking through your album, or those that haven’t paid the ticketmaster from getting a free “dekho”.

    Privacy settings, and repeat after me, do not exist to protect you from Facebook. I know Facebook says otherwise, but bear with me.

    And here is the thing. If you really cared for privacy of your opinions, you would not be on Facebook in the first place, desperately fishing for “likes” and “shares”. As a matter of fact, the reason why you are on social media is because you want the publicity, for what you think, for how happy your life is, which airport lounge you are currently checked in to, because you want your cousin to know you are flying business class, and for people to know what political figure in history you are, even though that questionnaire you went through is pretty plainly eliciting your politics, in an analysis-friendly way.

    Okay, but personal data? You don’t really care for that either. You will pretty happily part with your address, phone number, email, and the circumference of the mole on your left shoulder for a store loyalty card, platinum-level please, that promises 5 per cent discount on purchases above Rs 10,000 and parking validation. You will happily post your vacation pictures while you are on vacation, telling every burglar on social media that your house is currently unoccupied. Your shock and condemnation are only when you find people actually using that data, either by sending you a customised “Buy this” or “Vote for this” or by breaking into your house.

    No, no, the problem is, the way Cambridge Analytica used that data, to give us Donald Trump. Well, first of all, welcome to the world of statistics. It used to be unsexy when I was growing up, Goongupta Das Gupta statistics book being even less popular than Poonam Dasgupta, but now with massive computational power, algorithm parallelisation, and the rebranding of statistics as “Big Data”, this is all back in fashion, and Cambridge Analytica is just one in a long line of companies that are selling analytics services, and there really is not much of a difference between selling you Cheetos and selling you a guy who looks like Cheetos.

    And here is the bigger thing. It is not even clear that such microtargeting works, in a statistically significant way, in the field of political science, in this specific case whether Trump or whoever else hired CA, *actually* obtained any insights from their analytics that they would not have obtained elsewhere, for example through voter lists or door-to-door canvassing. There is a lot of literature, written by academics in history and political science, immensely sceptical of the ability of such analytics to find “Oh, my God, I never thought of that before” insights when it comes to political behaviour. By thinking of the quants at Cambridge Analytica as voodoo doctors who can alter elections by changing a configuration file, the only narrative you end up strengthening is that of Cambridge Analytica itself, and when I said I was drowning in irony, I was not kidding, because every hate post about Cambridge Analytica is an advertisement for them, and their ilk, and every overstatement about the power of the data Facebook owns, makes them stronger than they are.

    So best of luck, #DeleteFacebook. And well done.

    Now, sensationalism in science reporting is not new; I mean, without the sensation, you get research papers, and who reads those? But some of the moral indignation here stems from an insecurity in the mainstream corporate media, at the possibility of them losing their role as the primary influencer of customer behaviour, both in terms of buying products and voting for candidates. What a nightmare it would be if a data owner (Facebook), a data analyser (Cambridge Analytica), and a targeter (the guy selling the product) short-circuited them out of the business they have had for hundreds of years.

    Of course, much of the fear is unfounded, which is why Fox News and Republic TV and The Wire and The Hindu still exist, but not all of it is blind panic, because change has already started happening, as media platforms, both generic (e.g. Facebook) or specific (e.g. Breitbart) provide greater targeting capabilities than conventional TV or page views, not that we are, I repeat, in the mind-control apocalypse that many claim we already are in. And won’t be in, any time soon.

    Putting it all together, targeting-at-scale is not black magic, and companies like Cambridge Analytica haven’t suddenly gotten their hands on The Half Blood Prince’s secret spell book, no matter how much they would like you to believe they have. Now intelligence that alters elections may still be provided through hacked emails and other privileged communications, but now we are moving away from the supposed civilisational crisis posed by Big Data, machine learning, or Facebook into the domain of profiting from pure criminal activity, which is as old as humankind itself.

    So, please let us not panic, let us not delete Facebook, and let us obey the signs in the picture at the top, and vow not to eat zebra, tiger, or giraffe meat.

    Please.

    This piece was first published on the writer’s blog and has been republished here with permission.

    Tags
    Social Media
    Data privacy
    Cambridge Analytica
    #DeleteFacebook
    Facebook data breach

    Comments ↓

    An Appeal...


     

    Dear Reader,

     

    As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.

     

    Our business model is you and your subscription.  And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.

     

    We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.

     

    Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.

    Get Swarajya in your inbox.


    Magazine


    Swarajya Magazine Cover Image
    Merchandise

    Merchandise


      Politics

      On Rajaji’s Birth Anniversary: Five Must Read Articles 

      On Rajaji’s Birth Anniversary: Five Must Read Articles 

      Swarajya Staff
      4h

      Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali, Who Protested Against Mahua Moitra's Expulsion, Suspended By BSP For Indulging In 'Anti-Party Activities'

      Swarajya Staff
      22h

      MoS External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi Denies Signing Lok Sabha Reply On Designating Hamas As Terror Organisation

      Swarajya Staff
      1d

      Economy

      Enough Of Big Bang Reforms? No Major Announcements In Next Budget, "Wait Till July 2024", Says Nirmala Sitharaman

      Enough Of Big Bang Reforms? No Major Announcements In Next Budget, "Wait Till July 2024", Says Nirmala Sitharaman

      Nishtha Anushree
      3d

      ₹58,378 Crores! Govt Set To Open Taps On Additional Welfare Spending With 2024 In Mind

      Swarajya News Staff
      3d

      India Anticipated To Be Fastest Growing In Next Three Years, Set to Become Third Largest Economy By 2030: S&P

      Nishtha Anushree
      5d

      Defence

      On This Day, In 1971, Indian Air Force Continued Heli-lift Operations Across Meghna, While Fierce Fighting Raged In The Mountains Of Ladakh

      On This Day, In 1971, Indian Air Force Continued Heli-lift Operations Across Meghna, While Fierce Fighting Raged In The Mountains Of Ladakh

      Ujjwal Shrotryia
      26m

      Indian Navy Gears Up For Domestically Made 'Underwater Chariots' — Here's All About It

      Bhuvan Krishna
      2h

      1971 War: How The Indian Army Crossed The Mighty Meghna River In East Pakistan On Its March Towards Dhaka  

      Prakhar Gupta
      19h

      World

      Putin Hails PM Modi As 'Main Guarantor' For Robust India-Russia Relations

      Putin Hails PM Modi As 'Main Guarantor' For Robust India-Russia Relations

      Bhuvan Krishna
      4h

      'Context' Takes Its First Victim: UPenn President Liz Magill Resigns

      Swarajya Staff
      6h

      After Becoming Longest-Serving President, Putin Announces Running For Election In Russia Again

      Nishtha Anushree
      2d

      Culture

      From Jodhpur To Ayodhya On Bulls, Preserved Through Herbs: The Story Of Ghee To Be Used For Ram Lalla's First Aarti

      From Jodhpur To Ayodhya On Bulls, Preserved Through Herbs: The Story Of Ghee To Be Used For Ram Lalla's First Aarti

      Nishtha Anushree
      1d

      ‘Garba Of Gujarat’ Declared As Intangible Heritage By UNESCO

      Arun Kumar Das
      3d

      Gujarat's Garba Is Now In List Of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

      Swarajya News Staff
      3d
      States

      infrastructure


      Arun Kumar Das
      1

      Ram Temple: Special Trains To Ayodhya Station, Electric Catamaran On Saryu River

      2 Mins Read
      Arun Kumar Das
      2

      Cool Comfort: India Mandates AC Cabins In New Trucks From October 2025

      1 Mins Read
      Swarajya News Staff
      3

      Airbus Helicopters, Indamer Aviation Join Forces To Strengthen India's Helicopter Maintenance Services

      2 Mins Read
      Arun Kumar Das
      4

      Indian Railways To Run 4,500 Vande Bharat Trains By 2047, Says Union Minister Scindia

      2 Mins Read