Following revelations about Facebook data being misused for political campaigning in 2014, we spoke to members of the UAE public to get an idea if the news has been enough to put them off using the world’s biggest social network, which currently has 2.2 billion monthly active users.
Would you stop using Facebook following recent news stories?
No. When you install an app, you have to agree to terms and conditions, and that’s the way it’s always been. I know I should stop using it following the third party data story, but to be honest I won’t.
Craig, Sales Executive
I don’t care. I joined Facebook blindly, and it doesn’t matter.
Majid, Graphic Designer
I have not used Facebook since 2014, when I heard that Zuckerberg had bought a huge plot of land in Hawaii and walled it off, blocking an important native access route. I do not agree with his methods of doing things, nor do I want a company to take my hobbies and interests and sell them to others. His lack of empathy is, as British MPs have said, “absolutely astonishing”.
Bilal, Business Development Manager
No, I would never delete my Facebook account. It’s the only place where I’ve got all my photos from my travels in my twenties, plus the photos I’ve been randomly tagged in over the last 13 years. Also, I genuinely find it one of the easiest ways to keep in touch with people, or keep track of them even if I don’t necessarily want to get in contact with them. It’s still nice to see that Julie from school has got three kids and is doing well. It’s even nicer to see that Becky from school has got really really fat. But mostly, I genuinely don’t care if Facebook has given access to my data. I don’t have anything to hide. Facebook is all about what you put out there about yourself; it seems strange to me that someone who chooses to upload and share with the world a picture of their child in the bath (for example) now suddenly has a problem with what’s being shared about them.
Sarah, HR manager
I haven’t stopped using Facebook, but then I don’t put information on it that I don’t want them to know. Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t care about users or their data that Facebook uses.
Rob, Education Consultant
No, but I personally don’t use it that often anyway because Facebook’s news feeds have been showing a lot more irrelevant content recently.
Preeti, Social Media Manager
I’m not worried about the data breach, so wouldn’t consider deleting my Facebook. There’s a certain element of risk you take on social media, so you just have to be careful about what you share.
Sophie, Public Relations Consultant
I would stop using Facebook, because I barely use it. It’s mainly just a news feed now. I’m more likely to use Instagram.
Aisha, Solicitor
No, I wouldn’t stop using it. As an expat, it helps to build a social bridge to those at home, and I don’t have anything to hide, so the fact data is shared bothers me little.
Matt, Construction Engineer
No, I wouldn’t stop using it because of this story; I already knew that Facebook passed data on to third parties. However, I would stop using it because I am sick of it.
Hamad, Sales Director
I locked down my privacy settings on my Facebook account circa 2010 amidst early accusations of privacy breaches, and have logged in maybe a dozen times since then. I’ve deliberately never used the app on a mobile device. I have long been suspicious of Facebook and their privacy and security policies. Then again, I use Instagram and WhatsApp regularly, which are both owned by Facebook, with the assumption that my data is less likely to be shared, sold or exploited on these platforms.
Muhammad, Real Estate Agent
I wouldn’t stop using Facebook. There’s not really a direct alternative platform that offers the same services, and since I stopped using Orkut, there’s no other service I’d use.
Rajeesh, Data Scientist
