When it comes to digital technology, companies will do anything to get their hands on data about their users.
This allows them to get a better idea of which ads to run, and how to cater to the desires of its individual users.
But, Mark Zuckerberg’s latest move has millions of Facebook users on edge.
Meta’s latest eyebrow raising move has some Facebook and Instagram users asking questions
Most internet users do not give much thought to the data they dish out while using their favorite social media websites.
After all, nobody has the time to read the lengthy terms and conditions pages that social media platforms throw in front of users every several months or so.
However, clever tactics have allowed social media companies to amass massive amounts of data about their users, with some companies knowing every detail about their customers.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, prides itself on its expansive collection of user data, allowing the social media giant to guess what individuals want to see on their pages, along with what ads to present to them.
However, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come under fire for taking things a bit too far, amassing data that some users deem as invasive.
For example, Meta recently revealed that they would start testing facial recognition technology on some of its platforms.
Meta claims that they will allegedly test facial recognition technology’s ability to help protect its users, blocking spam ads featuring unauthorized photos of celebrities, or removing deep faked AI images of its users.
The social media giant also claims that they will test facial recognition technology to assist users with account recovery, using their face to match them back with their profiles.
Although this may seem like a promising venture, Meta has attempted to use facial recognition technology in the past, which led to widespread backlash.
Many of its users feared that Meta and its allies could use the facial recognition technology and data for nefarious reasons.
Meta has responded to these concerns, claiming that users can opt-out of the testing, and that they will delete facial scans immediately after collecting them and using them.
But given Meta’s dubious actions in recent years, many of Meta’s users simply do not trust them.
Meta has a long way to go in order to regain the trust of its users
Just a couple months ago, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted to Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) that he worked with the Biden-Harris White House to silence Americans online.
Many Americans had suspected such social media collusion for years; however, this admission proved not only that Meta worked directly with the White House but that the White House would get angry when Meta did not comply.
If Meta hopes to roll out invasive technologies like facial recognition successfully, then they need to regain the trust of its billions of users across the globe, who fear that Meta could use their own data against them.