520
submitted 1 year ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] ryan@the.coolest.zone 66 points 1 year ago

It looks like the important part is here:

After publication, Maca Ferguson, a spokesperson for Volunteers of America Western Washington, said the pixel was used for fundraising efforts and “not intended to collect personally identifiable information for purposes of tracking or transmitting this data back to Meta, its subsidiaries, or any third party for any reason” and that any data was sent “without our knowledge or consent.” Ferguson told The Markup the organization has since removed the pixel.

It's possible these crisis websites were using Facebook for fundraising efforts without reading the fine print of what adding a "click here to go to Facebook and donate" actually captures. It's part of what makes these integrations with large social media corporations so insidious.

[-] StrayCatFrump@beehaw.org 35 points 1 year ago

Out of 33 of these crisis center websites they looked at:

In follow-up tests, four organizations appeared to have completely removed the code. The majority of the centers we contacted did not respond to requests for comment.

Ignorance may have been an excuse prior to this investigation, but it's not an excuse now.

[-] interolivary@beehaw.org 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Sure it is; an investigation doesn't really mean anything to them, they can just go on as they have before. Not sure if there'll be any legal repercussions?

[-] StrayCatFrump@beehaw.org 14 points 1 year ago

All right. Well, let me rephrase: it's not a meaningful excuse which we should buy as justification for gross undermining of our privacy and our trust in organizations which allegedly exist to help us when we are in crisis.

load more comments (2 replies)
this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2023
520 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

37443 readers
99 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:


This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS