You’ve probably noticed that Facebook has been making headlines in the news recently, with some of the stories painting the social media platform in a less than desirable light.
One of the main stories circulating at present is focused on how the multi-billion dollar corporation is currently in the process of tightening its controls regarding the way in which third parties access user’s data.
This decision comes after the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal, which has affected some 87 million Facebook users who have had their personal information and data extracted by data brokers.
So, what steps are watchdogs taking to rectify this injustice and what does it really mean for the billions of social media users and businesses out there?
Data harvesting
Extracting data from websites is known as data harvesting and often involves using a small script, otherwise known as a malicious bot, automatically extract a large amount of data from websites and use it for other purposes.
Data harvesting is a multi-billion dollar industry and unfortunately, it’s very hard for to gauge how much these organisations know about people, and how those that have been affected can go about deleted the information that is out there.
Shockingly, the really big players in data harvesting can hold as many as 3,000 ‘data points’ on every consumer, according to the most recent research by the US Federal Trade Commission.
What the European watchdogs are saying
The revelations regarding Facebook has resulted in a widespread outcry, not least from The Working Party 29, the group that is responsible for uniting European data protection authorities across the continent. In response, the group is going forward with a plan to develop a Social Media Working Group with the aim of creating a long-term strategy to tackle the issue of data collection through social media.
The landmark GDPR ruling will also commence on 25 May, giving Europeans the right to know what data is stored on them and also allowing them to request for data to be deleted.
How it could affect your business
The obvious problem associated with data harvesting is data loss but it can wreak havoc on businesses in other ways, too.
- Poor SEO ranking – original content drives your SEO ranking higher, so naturally, duplicated content will be responsible for it plummeting. If your website content is being harvested and used on other sites for different purposes, you may notice your SEO score take a nosedive.
- Decreased marketing advantages – All businesses are working hard to get one over on their competitors and unfortunately, data harvesting could undo all of that solid graft. If your competitors use data harvesting, they could gain valuable information about your customers, ultimately giving them an advantage over you.