Last week will be remembered by all because of Mark Zuckerberg's audience at the American Congress. There's no point in denying that Facebook collects a lot, a lot of data about individual users.
That said, all kinds of businesses and government organizations are more than willing to use this data to run campaigns on Facebook. So, is Facebook bad for collecting this data? And if so, aren't websites willing to provide / use this information just as bad?
Regulation is still lagging
When radio first emerged, companies sponsored most of the programs. The programs were a big advertisement. We call it a soap opera because a big soap factory sponsored it! Gradually, broadcasters sold ads in blocks, during commercial breaks.
While some countries have laws regarding advertising and advertisements, most countries have councils that provide guidelines on what is allowed in advertisements. Advertisers, media professionals and the public talk to each other and determine what is allowed and what is not.
And I think that's what we need to do with advertising on Facebook. We need to think, speak, and set new rules for this advertising game. Together.
Corporate responsibility
Facebook does not force a tracking pixel on websites. Neither Google. And yet, many sites have each (Google & Facebook). It's a choice. I'm not saying it's a bad choice per se; I'm just saying it's a choice. And I think companies should take the time to think about the consequences of that choice. Do you want to use data collected from people who visit your Website to target these people on Facebook? You can't be sure what Facebook does with this data, but you pass it on to them.
Ignorance is no excuse
I'm afraid a lot of companies don't even know if they have a tracking pixel or not. The departments marketing or the agencies may have taken care of it without explaining how such a calibration campaign works. I think companies have a responsibility to know and take care of them. We are talking about the collection of data on individuals; This is valuable data about your visiteurs.
We should educate ourselves and our children. We are all seeing a recalibration, so we should explain how it works. It's not rocket science, because even children can understand it.
Many have noticed that after visiting a website, the latter's advertising was now displayed on Facebook. We should make a real effort to explain this problem to children, businesses and governments.
If people understand, we can have a meaningful conversation and raise the issues that matter.
Have the conversation
We need to raise ethical questions. What data are we allowed to collect from our audience? And for what purpose? Do we need to tell our audience that we have pixel enabled on our site?
I do not have the answers to these questions. Different people will come up with different answers. That's the beauty of ethical questions. I'm no expert, but you should read the article from Morton Rand-Hendriksen on the use of ethics in web design (English) if you are interested in this stuff.
Ultimately, we all have to think about it. We all need to talk about it. And in the end, we have to come to a consensus. We have to pass - and abide by - rules or laws to deal with these kinds of things.
