Facebook scandal is a wake-up call for online users

Facebook's data scandal is a wake-up call for users about participating in quizzes on the platform.

A quiz app collected data from 50 million Facebook users' personal information, which was then used by Cambridge Analytica to serve President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign.

Although the data was collected from users without their consent or knowledge, Facebook said that users had privacy settings to allow this.

Even a non-tech savvy person can see that Facebook is holding a lot of personal information of its users, even though they only allow the platform to register their location, or upload a photo.

Last weekend, Ars Technica highlighted a tweet from Dylan McKay, a New Zealand man who posted a photo of his call history with his mother-in-law that Facebook had collected. Facebook later said this was done with the user’s permission.

However, Ars Technica believes that this is the problem that needs to be considered. "We download applications and allow services to collect information about ourselves without thinking. This is very dangerous, people need to be more aware of the consequences of using such applications," Ars Technica emphasized.

The Facebook data scandal should serve as a wake-up call for people to understand what information is shared online. A CNBC article titled “How to download a copy of everything Facebook knows about you” remains one of the site’s top stories.

Of course, Facebook and other major tech companies also make data collection central to their business models, so users should have control over what data apps have access to.

However, the onus is not just on users, but big tech companies need to improve their privacy. When users sign up for a service or download an app, the information collected and how it is used should be made clear, and it should be easy for users to change how their data is accessed.

Tech companies should also be more responsible and require consent from users before using their personal information.

Controlling your data has never been more important. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has talked about the potential of artificial intelligence. It's a terrifying technology that can read and use data in ways never before seen. With such a future in sight, controlling your data should be your top priority.