The absurdity of the Cambridge Analytics panic

David Hirsanyi:

What the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica panic lacks in relevance it sure makes up for in melodramatic rhetoric. Bloomberg, for instance, says that “revelations of the apparent skulduggery that helped Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election keep sending shock waves across the political landscape.” It’s true. Everyone is talking about it. The story has consumed most of the mainstream media.

The theory goes something like this: Facebook obtained information on users who took a personality quiz with their online friends. Another outlet, Cambridge Analytica, harvested that information to brainwash a bunch of rubes, and then yada, yada, yada … Russia! Senators are now demanding executives come forth and answer questions. Investigations must be open. Democracy is under threat.

Former Cambridge Analytica contractor and now-professional whistleblower Christopher Wylie told CNN that while at the company he helped build a “psychological warfare weapon” to “exploit mental vulnerabilities that our algorithms showed that [Facebook users] had.”

So, in other words, he worked in the advertising business.

Those who have covered politics for more than a single Trump-cycle should know better than to use this kind of unnerving rhetoric for what amounts to average microtargeting, which has been used by hundreds, if not thousands, of firms. Yet, now, when it serves to bolster convoluted theories about an election being overthrown, terms like “psychographics” and “breach” are being thrown around to make it sound like someone hacked into voting rolls after boring into the deepest recesses of our souls.

Moreover, the idea that Facebook can know your “mental vulnerabilities” is only true if you share your nightmares with them. If you’re uncomfortable with data mining and your information being shared, don’t take surveys. Because, breaking news: You don’t have to be on Facebook. You don’t have to use Twitter. You don’t have a constitutional right to play FarmVille without answering some questions. You don’t get free stuff. The very existence of these tech companies is predicated on mining data so that they, or third parties, can sell you things.
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There is more.

I have been puzzled by this panic from the beginning.  Google does the same thing all the time.  If you haven't notice that doing search or checking out specific products on Amazon leads to ads for similar products showing up on other sites, you have not been paying attention.  This is how big tech companies became big.  If you think its creepy do your shopping in brick and mortar stores and not on the Internet. 

I am not big on taking the quiz's on Facebook.  For the most part, I see those quiz's as boring.  But anyone who wants to know my political views can click on my blog and find out pretty quick.  And they do, because candidates and others fill my Gmail account everyday.