As regular visitors will be aware, we offer an option to log in to the website without a “standard” account, instead allowing users to “Login with Facebook”. However, as of 31st July, I will be removing this functionality requiring all users to log in with a “standard” username and password rather than via Facebook.

Of course I’m sure the first question will be why – why remove something that has functionality that users use, albeit a small portion of those registered?

The answer is this – I no longer trust Facebook as an organisation and therefore am taking steps to remove their authentication option.

Again, the question I’m sure people will be asking is why – why don’t you trust them?

As some of you will be aware, it was recently reported that Facebook had engaged in some deliberate, disingenuous and unannounced manipulation of “News Feeds” – the information people see when they log into the site detailing what their friends up to.

What it meant for the 700,000 people involved was that the news being shown to them was deliberately skewed in one of two ways. For one group, only positive news was shown. For others, only negative news was shown. Facebook claimed they did this to research the impact of receiving purely positive or negative news from their friends, a claim which has some validity but also has significant impact on people without their consent.

They found, far from unexpectedly, that people only seeing negative news were more prone to being negative in their own updates. Likewise, people seeing purely positive news were more likely to make more positive posts themselves.

As someone who has experience in both psychology and technology – the latter of which I’ve spent most of my adult career in – such a manipulation is, in my eyes, unforgivable. In my own role within the technology industry, often I’m engaged in how companies can utilise so called “big data” – massive swathes of information that reflect the increasing amount of data we create and have captured.

With that comes a professional and moral sense of responsibility. Just as the NSA have recently got into trouble for their gathering of data, so organisations have to be careful both what they collect and how they state those intentions, leaving their users to be understanding of what they are giving away and why.

For Facebook, an organisation that has grown exponentially over the past decade, they have reached a critical point where they have – through social expansion – created a culture where sharing is the norm, where people are volunteering vast amounts of information about themselves because they’re offered a service that is free. However, as the old saying goes – there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

What it means is we’re giving away information about everything we do from where we are (tagged in statuses and the EXIF data that is stored in photos) to what we like (all those “likes” on pages) based on the fact that they’re letting us keep in touch with other people.

In a sense, it is a fair trade – their servers obviously cost money to run and there is no entry fee to use the system. However, as stated before, that means the cost is elsewhere.

With the recent events of their data manipulation, and historic records of their less-than-moral respect for the data of people, many of which have been sucked in with the promise of a no catch service, supporting Facebook – in my opinion – goes against who I am, what I stand for and also how I feel about users.

As a result, as of the end of the 31st July, I will be closing down both the Aston Villa Life Facebook page – a tool I’ve found has had limited usage anyway – and also the “Login with Facebook” button – an application that is directly connected to my own Facebook account, something I am likely to be shuttering in the not-too-distant future.

I apologise for any inconvenience this choice may cause, and would recommend that any users who do use the “Login with Facebook” option to contact me so I can set them up with a “standard” account.

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Likewise, if you’d like to understand more about Facebook’s recent transgressions regarding data and its usage, please check the following links:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2014/07/04/facebook-faces-possible-ftc-investigation-for-manipulation-study/

http://www.informationweek.com/software/social/facebook-mood-manipulation-10-bigger-problems/a/d-id/1279124?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/03/sheryl-sandberg-not-sorry-for-facebook-mood-manipulation-study/

Comments 3

  1. Fairplay Matt —- Facebook indeed have so much info on its users its as bit scary

    Many happy returns Frem – i will have a brandy in your honor later — it would be rude not too

    Faulkner going is a really good sign imo — hopefully it means the club is pretty certain it will be taken over

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