Is the Facebook saga that big of a deal?

If you haven't heard the recent news about Facebook and the exploitation by Cambridge Analytica, you should probably get up from underneath that rock upon which you have been living. But for those who may be in this very situation, let me summarise. It was recently leaked that Facebook had been profiting from sharing the 'private' details of its users to companies so they could tailor their adverts. But what appears to have made the biggest impact is the fact that such adverts were being tailored in order to help political parties in the run up to the US election in 2016. It is estimated that up to 85 million different users profiles were being shared with the election consultants Cambridge Analytica.

At the heart of the scandal is how the election consultant firm Cambridge Analytica is a service used by the Trump corporation, so there are accusations flying, understandably, saying that the Trump corporation exploited this in order to gain an advantage in Donald Trumps 2016 election campaign.

So whats the big deal? Amongst this whole saga the words 'private information' have been thrown around an awful lot, but the information in question is only as private as pages you've liked or even written a status about. Information which you willing put on your wall for all your friends to see but also the internet if your privacy settings aren't incredibly secure. You at the end of the day are responsible for what you post on not only facebook but all social media. As kids brought up with the internet you are taught internet safety, with slogans such as "Don't put anything on the internet that you wouldn't want people to see".

As for the statistic claiming that the number of profiles sampled was upwards of 85 million, in the grand scheme of Facebooks 2.2 billion users, isn't that many. This isn't a defence of Facebooks and Cambridge Analyticas actions, but I do feel that this whole debacle has been blown slightly out of proportion. Yes, Facebook profiting from others personal information is unethical in theory but it is the user who has willingly put their information on the platform, and in order to maintain that platform it needs to make money. Which Facebook does, just happens to be through ads specifically tailored to you, so they can monetise of course.

It also does appear that anyone above the age of 40 and happens to be a senator in the United States of America hasn't the slightest clue on how Facebook works, with most asking particularly simple questions at his hearing infant of congress. They also appeared to make an attempt at belittling Mark Zuckerberg, which is quite possibly the most American thing to come out of this saga.

If you would like to watch a short highlight real of some incredibly awkward exchanges,

Click here.