Consent and the Digital Quid Pro Quo
As Facebook finds itself ensnared in a fresh controversy for misusing Apple's internal app distribution mechanism to get Facebook users to side-load a data-harvesting Research VPN app that monitored all data passing through their phones in exchange for US$ 20 per month, search giant Google has been caught doing the same.
The private iOS app, called Screenwise Meter and part of the larger Google Opinions Rewards program, is open to anyone above 18 years old and lets users earn gift cards for side-loading the app that allows Google to monitor and analyse their internet traffic and data. (Google even has a Google Opinion Rewards router meter for a similar purpose.)
In response to the findings, the company has moved swiftly to disable the app and tender an unequivocal apology. "The Screenwise Meter iOS app should not have operated under Apple's developer enterprise program — this was a mistake, and we apologize. We have disabled this app on iOS devices," said the company in a statement to TechCrunch.
If it's any consolation, Google has at least been more upfront about its data collection practices, and its direct involvement unlike Facebook, which engaged in clever subterfuge by not even giving the app a proper icon. But questions surrounding privacy and consent still loom large.
Yes, both Facebook's Research and Google's Screenwise are fully opt-in, and users explicitly consent to them prior to "installing" the apps. But given tech companies' ravenous appetite for personal information and 2018's unsettling string of data breaches and privacy violations, is luring people to sell their privacy with financial rewards the right approach? Do users fully understand the privacy implications?
While Facebook says parental consent is required for minors aged 13-17, BBC journalist Dave Lee reported as being able to sign up for the "research project" as a 14-year-old boy... with two kids. "I thought I'd see how robust the parental control for Facebook's programme is. In less than five minutes I was able to sign up as a 14-year-old boy... with two kids. It required no proof of parental consent at all. I've just been sent a link to download the iOS app," Lee tweeted.
By incentivising gullible users (teens, in particular) to sign up for the data-grab-disguised-as-a-social-media-study in return for cash (and possibly more, if they referred their friends), the whole episode demands we look at consent in fresh light, especially at a time when consumers remain poorly informed about privacy policies, instead often choosing to agree to the terms and conditions without really knowing what they are agreeing to.
That, and establishing better transparency will go a long way towards instilling trust among users, even if they don't mind sharing their personal data with them in exchange for benefits, and even if they are resigned to the idea that companies collect more data about them than they realise. After all, it's the digital quid pro quo all of us signed up for.
 |
| Did you actually read the terms? |
The private iOS app, called Screenwise Meter and part of the larger Google Opinions Rewards program, is open to anyone above 18 years old and lets users earn gift cards for side-loading the app that allows Google to monitor and analyse their internet traffic and data. (Google even has a Google Opinion Rewards router meter for a similar purpose.)
In response to the findings, the company has moved swiftly to disable the app and tender an unequivocal apology. "The Screenwise Meter iOS app should not have operated under Apple's developer enterprise program — this was a mistake, and we apologize. We have disabled this app on iOS devices," said the company in a statement to TechCrunch.
If it's any consolation, Google has at least been more upfront about its data collection practices, and its direct involvement unlike Facebook, which engaged in clever subterfuge by not even giving the app a proper icon. But questions surrounding privacy and consent still loom large.
Yes, both Facebook's Research and Google's Screenwise are fully opt-in, and users explicitly consent to them prior to "installing" the apps. But given tech companies' ravenous appetite for personal information and 2018's unsettling string of data breaches and privacy violations, is luring people to sell their privacy with financial rewards the right approach? Do users fully understand the privacy implications?
While Facebook says parental consent is required for minors aged 13-17, BBC journalist Dave Lee reported as being able to sign up for the "research project" as a 14-year-old boy... with two kids. "I thought I'd see how robust the parental control for Facebook's programme is. In less than five minutes I was able to sign up as a 14-year-old boy... with two kids. It required no proof of parental consent at all. I've just been sent a link to download the iOS app," Lee tweeted.
By incentivising gullible users (teens, in particular) to sign up for the data-grab-disguised-as-a-social-media-study in return for cash (and possibly more, if they referred their friends), the whole episode demands we look at consent in fresh light, especially at a time when consumers remain poorly informed about privacy policies, instead often choosing to agree to the terms and conditions without really knowing what they are agreeing to.
That, and establishing better transparency will go a long way towards instilling trust among users, even if they don't mind sharing their personal data with them in exchange for benefits, and even if they are resigned to the idea that companies collect more data about them than they realise. After all, it's the digital quid pro quo all of us signed up for.
Comments
Post a Comment