Facebook attempted to shut down a tool that allows you to inspect their data tracking

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

Download the tool here https://gizmodo.com/keep-track-of-who-facebook-thinks-you-know-with-this-ni-1819422352

 

Souce : Gizmodo through TXP-Network-CRS's #security-bulletins thread https://gizmodo.com/facebook-wanted-us-to-kill-this-investigative-tool-1826620111

 

With Facebook's history of data mining and generally sketchy practices with consumer data (see Cambridge Analytica scandal) last year Gizmodo released a tool that allows you to inspect your People You may Know section and its often scarily accurate suggestions.

Spoiler

Last year, we launched an investigation into how Facebook’s People You May Know tool makes its creepily accurate recommendations. By November, we had it mostly figured out: Facebook has nearly limitless access to all the phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, and social media handles most people on Earth have ever used. That, plus its deep mining of people’s messaging behavior on Android, means it can make surprisingly insightful observations about who you know in real life—even if it’s wrong about your desire to be “friends” with them on Facebook.

In order to help conduct this investigation, we built a tool to keep track of the people Facebook thinks you know. Called the PYMK Inspector, it captures every recommendation made to a user for however long they want to run the tool. It’s how one of us discovered Facebook had linked us with an unknown relative. In January, after hiring a third party to do a security review of the tool, we released it publicly on Github for users who wanted to study their own People You May Know recommendations. Volunteers who downloaded the tool helped us explore whether you’ll show up in someone’s People You Know after you look at their profile. 

It's now come to light that last year Facebook tried to get them to take the tool down on the grounds that their TOS states that one may not solicit login information, despite the fact that they were not storing any data on their own servers. Gizmodo modified the tool to redirect you to a Facebook login page.

 

Spoiler

Facebook spokesperson reached out asking to chat about it, and then told us that the tool violated Facebook’s terms of service, because it asked users to give it their username and password so that it could sign in on their behalf. Facebook’s TOS states that, “You will not solicit login information or access an account belonging to someone else.” They said we would need to shut down the tool (which was impossible because it’s an open source tool) and delete any data we collected (which was also impossible because the information was stored on individual users’ computers; we weren’t collecting it centrally).

Now, the Knight First Amendment Institute has reached out to Facebook asking them to add a safe harbour to their TOS, which they have now done, as well as agreed to allow researchers and journalists access to an archive of political ads previously run on the platform but this is a small part of the problems Facebook causes (fake news, bubble syndrome, minion memes, etc. etc.)

 

 

My thoughts : Man, fuck facebook. After all the shady shit they've done they're still trying to take down a tool that helps you secure your data. Man am I glad I don't use Facebook

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

@TopHatProductions115

[TacoSenpai]

Get Zucked Facebook.

 

Instead go to Minds.com, and Bitchute for vids.

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

I really think we should have a pinned "Security Bulletins" thread

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

1 minute ago, LordOTaco said:

Get Zucked Facebook.

Yeah, Facebook can gozucccccccccccccccqqqkkkkk itself

[Jurrunio]

none of my info in Facebook is real anyway

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

1 minute ago, VegetableStu said:

I went through the early steps to remake a facebook account (without "completing" it) a few weeks ago on chrome, not the app.

 

Let's just say my data tagged to my phone number wasn't deleted the first time ._. or maybe it pulled it from the whatsapp permissions. Because the friend suggestions in the initial setup were light years away from empty

And this is why this Gizmodo tool exists. I'll put a link to it if I can find it

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

@VegetableStu Added a link to the tool at the top of the page

[TopHatProductions115]

@OrbitalBuzzsaw Don't try me - I'll start UNICODE art warfare...

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

Just now, TopHatProductions115 said:

@OrbitalBuzzsaw Don't try me - I'll start UNICODE art warfare...

user/s are typing...need I say more?

[TacoSenpai]

Just now, TopHatProductions115 said:

@OrbitalBuzzsaw Don't try me - I'll start UNICODE art warfare...

Don't tell me you've found it?!

 

 

[Guest]

Bad news for people like me, who have to use Facebook. 

 

I mean I also don’t care about my data being stolen or anything, I just prefer that they ask.

[TopHatProductions115]

Time to run away from social media - again. When will they stop making these mistakes?

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

Just now, TopHatProductions115 said:

Time to run away from social media - again. When will they stop making these mistakes?

Never, they're Zucccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccqqqkkkkkkkkkkerbook

[Speed Weed]

Twitter anyone? 

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

1 minute ago, DaPhuc said:

Twitter anyone? 

mememememe go follow me @OrbitalBuzzsawK

[Speed Weed]

3 minutes ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

mememememe go follow me @OrbitalBuzzsawK

What do you have on there? 

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

1 minute ago, DaPhuc said:

What do you have on there? 

Go look why don't you

[Speed Weed]

2 minutes ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

Go look why don't you

I am too lazy. Busy beating my meat. 

[Delicieuxz]

Quote

The day after we released it, a Facebook spokesperson reached out asking to chat about it, and then told us that the tool violated Facebook’s terms of service, because it asked users to give it their username and password so that it could sign in on their behalf. Facebook’s TOS states that, “You will not solicit login information or access an account belonging to someone else.” They said we would need to shut down the tool (which was impossible because it’s an open source tool) and delete any data we collected (which was also impossible because the information was stored on individual users’ computers; we weren’t collecting it centrally).

 

Facebook's TOS mean literally nothing to what people do outside of Facebook - including making and releasing a tool that monitors Facebook activity. Facebook TOS only applies to use of their service. A 3rd-party program made and distributed outside of Facebook is not subject to Facebook's TOS. What was Facebook thinking?

 

Well, I guess Facebook was thinking that they could trick the tool developers, psych them out into thinking they had to stop distribution of their tool.