In an open letter sent to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, global digital rights NGO Access Now calls on the company to conduct comprehensive reforms for how the social media giant handles personal data and to undergo an independent audit of its data processing accompanied by a global human rights assessment.
"In Europe and in the United States, Facebook is being investigated for the disproportionate and unauthorized transfer of data to Cambridge Analytica, which was used to target and influence users around elections. In the midst of these investigations, The New York Times revealed last week that Facebook gave device makers deep access to users’ data. Further reporting has indicated that some of these contracts with device makers may have bypassed users’ established privacy settings and this has raised questions about relationships between these companies and certain governments," the letter says.
Currently, Facebook’s transparency report provides no information on user data requests from entities other than governments.
"Mr. Zuckerberg can only feign ignorance and beg forgiveness so many times. Facebook has made a lot of mistakes in how it’s handling these scandals but the bigger mistake is the company’s decision to collect too much of our personal data and then to enter into irresponsible data disclosure agreements," said Estelle Massé, senior policy analyst at Access Now. "To save its credibility, Facebook must undergo a rigorous independent audit that will finally clarify exactly how the company treats our data."
The letter includes several questions concerning users’ rights, in particular data-disclosure partnerships. Access Now states that, to their knowledge, in the "early days of mobile, Facebook reached data disclosure partnerships with at least 60 device makers." They want to know how many of these partnerships are still present, and in the cases of terminated partnerships, what measures were taken to ensure manufacturers erased data that they had. Most importantly, Access Now wants to know what information from Facebook users was disclosed to device makers.
Furthermore, Access Now goes after Facebook’s argument that they are "not aware of any abuse by these companies."
Earlier last month, 77 other human rights and civil rights groups, together with several investment firms, recommended a series of reforms integrated into the structure of Facebook, including the structure of the board of directors.
