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What Did You Expect From Facebook?
Extracting value from your personal data is Facebook’s purpose
We’re all aware by now of the most recent user data scandal Facebook is wrapped up in. But here’s a basic summary anyway: Facebook or some appendage thereof has once again been accused of swiping user data to be used for some sort of agenda.
What baffles me, though, is why this kind of thing surprises or frustrates anyone.
Perhaps we’re not entirely clear on the economic realities of what Facebook is and what it exists to do. Facebook is a publicly owned corporation headquartered in and operated from the most capitalistic environment in the world. Literally the only goal of a capitalist corporation is to make money — that’s not an exaggeration. That’s the only reason they exist.
The executives and managers of public corporations are what we call fiduciaries. That means they are obligated to do what is in the best interest of the business at all times. And, again, the only interest of the business is to make as much money as possible all the time, for ever. Sure, there’s all kinds of nuance that could come into play here, but when you get right down to fundamentals, the pursuit of profit is all that matters to public corporations.
