Facebook has little idea about managing personal user data: report
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Social media giant Facebook is unable to account for most of the personal user data. Facebook collects and owns a lot of personal data. But tech website Engadget says Meta does not have the ability to account for what the platform is being used for or where the user is located.
According to Engadget, the report was written by privacy engineers on Facebook's Ad and Business Product team for the leadership. Authors have clearly stated that Facebook cannot say "we will not use a particular kind of data for a specific purpose.
The company's lack of "closed-form" systems is said to be the main obstacle in tracking down user data.
Facebook has about 1.9 billion users but is often in the dark about personal data. The report detailed how the Meta leadership can address the growing number of data usage regulations like new privacy laws being introduced in India and South Africa.
Since Facebook has no idea how to account for personal data, making promises regarding privacy and data usage will be difficult. Engineers at Facebook have warned the platform can hardly make promises to countries regarding the growing concerns.
"We do not have an adequate level of control and explainability over how our systems use data, and thus we can't confidently make controlled policy changes or external commitments," said the report.
Authors added that regulators reaching out to Facebook leadership from various countries are expecting a promise or explanation about what purpose the collected data serves. The unaccountability of the social media platform increases the risk of mistakes and misinterpretation.
Facebook has been constantly under fire from the US government and other nations for breaching the privacy of its users. Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that the platform has the ability to interfere with what users see on their screens.