The Going Rate for User Data
The Internet went into a frenzy earlier this week when Facebook took steps to require people to use its separate Messenger app for private messaging, instead of using the feature that was part of previous versions of Facebook's primary mobile app. Users were upset by the requirement to download the app for messages, but what drew the most ire from the Web was false information on the permissions Facebook's Messenger app requested of user phone data.
Misinformation spread like wildfire that Facebook would be accessing private data from users, but as it turned out Facebook's Messenger app wasn't requesting anything outrageous after all. It was too late.
The Web overreacted. It's unfortunate that misinformation caused this kind of backlash, but we've come to expect that of the Internet. What it also showed, however, was just how nervous many people are when it comes to their data.
Can we blame them?
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