Mired In Distrust, Facebook Users Lie On Profiles, Put Tape On Cameras After Cambridge Analytica Breach
MENLO PARK (KPIX 5) -- Facebook is telling its users whether they were affected by the Cambridge Analytica data breach.
For many Facebook users the breach has intensified their distrust of the platform.
Facebook user Shannon Wells said, "I lie about a lot of information on there. I don't give away things that make it easier to steal my identity."
Wells takes a lot of precautions to make sure her personal data is secure. She puts tape over her iPhone camera, puts a two-factor authentication on everything and reviews her Facebook privacy settings on a regular basis.
Wells said, "We have to ask, We have to demand the protections are put in place for us because they're leaking things that you don't even know."
Other Facebook users don't quite feel as strongly about protecting their personal information.
Facebook user Marcus Pollard said, "I think people are over-dramatizing it a bit...it's not going to stop me from using Facebook because of it."
CNET Editor-in-Chief Connie Guglielmo said, "At the end of the day Facebook which is the world's largest social media platform is a platform about trust. Do you trust them to uphold your data and share data that they will use to sell advertising and other uses but if you don't trust them you're not going to share that data."
Guglielmo says Facebook is trying to clean up a huge mess. She says regulating the tech industry is going to be a major focus for legislators to protect social media users' privacy and security.
"Facebook is in an awkward place, there's no question," Guglielmo said. "Advertisers have bailed on them, Elon Musk pulled down the Tesla and Space X Facebook pages. Again it goes back to trust. Do you trust Facebook and do you trust them to do the right thing going forward?"
But Shannon Wells is still very skeptical.
Wells said, "You're the product. It's free. If you're not paying for it with your dollars you should be asking yourself whether you're paying for it some other way."
Experts say the best thing you can do is to review your privacy settings and see what information Facebook is giving advertisers about you. Also, remove apps from your Facebook account that are accessing your personal information.
