Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has apologized over an experiment that manipulated more than 600,000 users' news feeds in 2012. Are we upset at the findings of the study, or upset that the study was done without our consent? And do we necessarily realize all of the studies performed on us every day?
NPR's Shankar Vedantam, who reports on human behavior, weighs in:
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Here’s my take on the Facebook experiment. Please read to the end before responding @HiddenBrain 1/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Many contradictions in FB debate. FB’s stance is far from salutory, but the response to FB expt has been incoherent. 2/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
We've heard the experiment was weak & didn't prove anything. Also, that it was deadly and made people suicidal. 3/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
FB may not have made clear it conducts research. But, also, no one reads what FB tells them! http://t.co/4QDrQXCtgs 4/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
FB and others (including MEDIA orgs covering FB!) study users to drive advertising, engagement & other goals. 5/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Advertisers & politicos constantly make us sad/angry to get our money/votes. See my book Ch 9 http://t.co/8nRKLBC4we 6/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Companies spend lots of time shaping your behavior – without your permission, and even when it can harm you. 7/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
For example, rake-thin models may harm how women think about their bodies http://t.co/79Mt9bTl26 but drive sales 8/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Apparently, it’s fine to make people sad to sell them stuff, but not OK to make people sad & publish what you find? 9/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
So psychologically manipulating people for commerce is fine. But we draw the line when it comes to knowledge. 10/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Let's say FB violated informed consent norms. If journals don't publish such findings, will FB stop studying users? 11/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
FB has acknowledged upsetting people. http://t.co/se6dqHURPu It has not said it will stop studying them. 12/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Older FB experiments, with similar levels of consent & published in academic journals, produced no outrage. http://t.co/cfvaCOqwpI 13/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
If this expt found altering news feed only made people HAPPY, would we attack FB or congratulate it for discovery? 14/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Are we criticizing FB for its ethical positions or because we don’t like the results of the experiment? 15/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Debate over what online “consent” really means is important. But this study has become a one-size fits all punching bag. 16/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Companies study you. This may or may not be deception. But if you are shocked, it is definitely self-deception http://t.co/X6NWi64Fl4 17/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
It would be wonderful if companies set and followed high standards when it comes to informed consent. 18/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
But if studying people with current online consent norms is fine for commerce, is it really best done in secret? 19/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
Personally, I want to know what companies are doing. And see the findings in journals. Don’t you? 20/20
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) July 2, 2014
