Social Media: The Voter Algorithm

Context

A political firm offers to use anonymized user data from your platform to create voter profiles and target ads. While anonymized, experts warn individuals could still be identified, revealing sensitive political beliefs.

Dilemma

A) Reject the partnership, upholding user trust and core democratic values by refusing to enable microtargeting, even if it means foregoing significant revenue.

B) Approve the partnership, prioritizing substantial new revenue and market position in political advertising.

Summary

Cambridge Analytica, a British firm, collected data from up to 87 million Facebook users without consent via an app in 2013. This data, including personal information, was used to assist the 2016 campaigns of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. The firm was accused of influencing the Brexit referendum, but investigations found no significant breaches. Facebook apologized, faced a $5 billion FTC fine, and paid a £500,000 UK fine. Cambridge Analytica filed for bankruptcy in 2018.

Resources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge_Analytica_data_scandal
• https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64075067