Article by: Chrissy Garcia
Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash
In March 2018, the world of digital media was shook up due to exposes released by The Guardian and The New York Times. The story, how Facebook harvested personal data from 50 million accounts for Cambridge Analytica and the 2016 Trump Election Campaign. To this point, over 79% of Facebook users were trusting of the social network’s ability to protect their personal data (Butow, 2018). In the weeks and months following the news break – and to this day – Facebook has dealt with the ramifications of these ethical issues and the impact it has had on the brand. The Facebook and Cambridge Analytica Scandal has had serious effects on brand perception and consumer engagement since 2018.
These events highlight the story of the scandal, and the aftermath that followed. Cambridge Analytica was a political data firm hired by President Trump’s 2016 Election Campaign. The firm was granted access to 270,000 user accounts by Dr. Aleksandr Kogan, a psychology professor from Cambridge University’s Psychometrics Center; accounts which were acquired through surveys answered directly from Facebook users who granted “academic consent” for their answers (Granville, 2018). Cambridge Analytica then used the data from these 270,000 accounts including their profile, likes, behaviors and utilized unauthorized access to their friend accounts to develop voter profiles based on user behavior. In the end, the firm had access to over 50 million profiles and personal data (Granville, 2018). These data points and voter profiles were used for targeting purposes on Facebook in hopes to influence voter behavior. Following trials, Facebook admitted to the unlawful transfer of 50 million user profiles to Cambridge Analytica and a court approved the Federal Trade Commission with Facebook in late 2019 (Electronic Privacy Information Center (epic), n.d.).
The ethical and legal issues Facebook faced as a result of the Cambridge Analytica scandal has taken a dramatic effect on the company’s brand perception and consumer engagement over the last 2 years. Prior to the news release, Facebook was under scrutiny for supporting fake news on the platform and accused of allowing the spread of Russian propaganda amid the 2016 election. Even so, trust in the social network remained unchanged until Cambridge Analytica. At the start of the trial, trust in the social network dropped to an all-time low of 28% from 79% in the previous year. This drop in trust saw only a slight return of 1% following the conclusion of the trial with continuous ramifications in consumer engagement on the platform (Butow, 2018). According to a survey held by the Ponemon Institute, the 66% decrease in trust is also matched with 67% of respondents in agreement that Facebook holds a responsibility to protect user information and that users ought to be notified of a breach (Butow, 2018).
Outside of a decrease in trust and a decline in positive brand perception, the brand has also seen a stark decrease in consumer engagement since the scandal. Pew research found that 26% of respondents have deleted the Facebook app (Su, 2018). Furthermore, as of January 2019, 25% of users are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the volume of information Facebook collects and stores with 7 out of 10 users altering their behavior on the app (Raymond, 2019). Changes in consumer behavior include blocking users, revising privacy settings, turning off locations, engaging less in the app overall (commenting, liking or sharing content) and blocking advertisers – all actions which effect Facebook’s bottom line.
There are many actions the brand could have taken to avoid such a downfall and can look to employ moving forward. For instance, the ethos of the company should have been defined in the brand values early on in the development and growth stages. While it seems this was not the case, the brand can look to clearly define the ethos of the company today and define parameters for ethical behaviors and actions. When first notified of the breach, Facebook kept the news confidential versus publicly announcing what had happened. The company took a firm stance in this action and has seen the effects of the fallout and the new lack of the trust from their audience. During this stage, the brand should have taken two courses of action: first and foremost, being transparent about the situation to their consumers and executing internal policies to avoid similar situations moving forward; second, the COO, Sherly Sandberg, could have applied a more stern approach to ensure the deletion of the Facebook data from Cambridge Analytica databases versus accepting statement as fact. Lastly, the brand could take a firmer stance on the role of the company in regards to data harvesting and society as a whole. Facebook needs to determine whether they are a tool which needs to be monitored and policed as a tool or a media company versus a limbo approach allowing them to jump through loopholes. These acts can make the brand seem financially-driven versus caring about the well-being of their consumers and the general good. This leads to a downfall of trust between the consumer and the brand.
References
Butow, D. (2018, April 18). Trust in Facebook has dropped by 66 percent since the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Retrieved from NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/trust-facebook-has-dropped-51-percent-cambridge-analytica-scandal-n867011
Electronic Privacy Information Center (epic). (n.d.). In re Facebook – Cambridge Analytica. Retrieved from Electronic Privacy Information Center (epic): https://epic.org/privacy/facebook/cambridge-analytica/
Granville, K. (2018, March 19). Facebook and Cambridge Analytica: What You Need to Know as Fallout Widens. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/facebook-cambridge-analytica-explained.html
Raymond, C. (2019, March 15). So What Do You Think of Facebook Now? Retrieved from Consumer Reports: https://www.consumerreports.org/social-media/what-do-you-think-of-facebook-now-survey/
Su, J. (2018, September 10). More Than 1 in 4 Americans Have Deleted Facebook, Survey Reveals. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2018/09/10/more-than-1-in-4-americans-have-deleted-facebook-survey-reveals/#626b751c4947
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