The Dream of a Connected World

It all began with the dream of a connect world; now this very same dream is setting the world apart.

Who can say that has never accepted the terms and conditions of any social platform online without reading it first? I certainly cannot. And, my guess, neither can you. That is why we are completely unaware of how our data is merchandised. Or are we?

At the moment, data is the most valuable asset on earth. And, at the same moment, ours is being analyzed so companies understand and work on our preferences. This operation functions like a boomerang: we expose our data; these companies analyze it and throw information back at us. Information which they personalize concerning our taste, where we live, what type of people we get along with and so on, with the final goal of using these targeted messages to change our behavior. In this way, these platforms work as accomplice to a whole process of manipulation of the individual sense of autonomy, freedom and even to the idea of democracy.

Let’s talk facts.
Back in 2018, Cambridge Analytica faced its own decay after being exposed by the media for using (and abusing) the personal data of, at least, 87 million people. How did they manage to do it? Technology grows fast in ways people do not understand and only by being a Facebook user, anyone’s personal information is at risk of being subject of profiling. So, in 2016, during the USA and UK elections, Cambridge Analytica bought Facebook’s data possessions in favor of Donald Trump’s and Brexit campaigns, both extreme right-wing parties that ended up winners. Coincidence? When we are talking about a company that manipulates data in order to get votes, there is no such thing as coincidences.

“My top priority has always been our social mission of connecting people, building community and bringing the world closer together. But it is clear now that we didn’t do enough to prevent these tools for being used for harm as well” 

Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook’s CEO), 2018

How much of Facebook’s revenue comes directly from monetizing users’ personal data? My bet: all of it. This is the best platform in which to run experiences, exactly for the amount of data it possesses. Although Facebook claims to not monitor what its users do in their internet space, it let Cambridge Analytica use the conceived information the way they did. Unfortunately, there is no law preventing this type of exploitation, which means Facebook cannot be considered liable.

On the other hand, what does this say about us; the “victims”? This massive event happened almost two years from now and yet I do not know a single person who bothers to read the terms and conditions before delivering data. 

Let’s bear in mind that this did not only happen in the US or the UK. It happened (and it will continue to) all over the world. Brazil for instance, used the exact same strategy with WhatsApp (which is also owned by Facebook) to elect Bolsonaro. In Myanmar, Facebook was the platform used to spread hatred among its society, which caused genocide. Russia created fake movements in the same platform to turn the USA against itself and profit from it. All of this is happening, and we know about it; and still, we are willingly giving our personal information to something bigger than us. Something that may and will be used against our will in ways we do not even understand. 

There is always going to be a “Cambridge Analytica” and there will always be someone willing to use its power. We, as users, consumers, but most of all, human beings need to choose to not be slaves of authoritarianism. Then again, at the end of the day, are our choices really our choices?