TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Facebooks security breach involving personal data of more than 50 million users is highly deplorable. Armed with the data, Cambridge Analytica, a UK-based political consulting firm, managed to influence the UK referendum, the US presidential elections results, and shake up the global geopolitical stability. It is high time the Indonesian government considered personal data security as a priority.
As revealed by whistleblower Christopher Wylie, former Head of Research of Cambridge Analytica, to the UK daily The Guardian, the massive data breach began when Aleksandr Kogan, a University of Cambridge researcher and the owner of Global Science Research, harvested personal data of millions of Facebook users using a personality quiz app he developed allegedly for academic research purposes.
The data was then illegally sold to Cambridge Analytica which later used it to tailor political ads that affect voters emotionally. The unethical firm did not even shy away from spreading rumors, fake news and hoaxes to influence voters’ choices. The scandal has called into question Facebook’s seriousness to safeguard user information.
What made the scandal even more appalling was a recent revelation that the US presidential elections and the UK referendum were not the only elections the firm influenced. Its parent company, Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) Group, was reported to have interfered in elections in 40 countries, from Brazil to Malaysia. The company’s website even boasts of having assisted one of the candidates during the Indonesian general elections a few years back.
In this light, the Indonesian government must forbid Facebook or other social media operators to breach privacy of users in this country. Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara’s plan to summon the local Facebook management is the right move but not sufficient. The House of Representatives must expedite finalizing the stalled discussions on the personal data protection draft bill.
Big data is the double-edged sword that has equally huge positive and disastrous effects. Especially if the assertion of several digital experts that Facebook as a social media machine was designed to collect every minute data of users prove to be true. With 2.2 million active users worldwide, Facebook has a treasure chest of personal data waiting to be exploited for almost any purpose without significant oversight from any authority.
A blessing in disguise from this scandal is the intensifying call for the accountability of global digital giants like Facebook. Starting from Europe, many governments are now formulating laws to force technology companies to open their doors to algorithm auditing. Only in this way can their power be tamed and controlled.
It is time for social media users to wise up and restrain from indulging in revealing all personal details on social media. Responsible users must check all privacy and confidentiality terms of social media sites. Only via digital literacy and awareness, the public can ward off the danger from such mass brainwashing machine as Cambridge Analytica.
Read the full article in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine
