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. . . Over the past week or so, Facebook has found itself wrapped up in what is arguably one of the company’s largest scandals since its inception back in 2004. After it was revealed that the research firm Cambridge Analytica collected the personal information of 50 million Facebook users to determine voting patterns based on personality without the users’ knowledge or consent, a #DeleteFacebook campaign kicked off on Twitter, urging users to get rid of their accounts for good.
As it turns out, Facebook is already starting to experience the financial consequences of this campaign, with Newsweek reporting that “Facebook shares dropped by more than six percent, slashing over $30 billion from the company’s valuation.” Even Mark Zuckerberg, one of the wealthiest individuals in the entire country, is feeling the effects – according to Forbes, his personal net worth has declined by about $5 billion. ...
A link mentioned in that article yields this additional perspective. Though from 2011, the information from [questionable] Julian Assange and the Electronic Privacy Information Center is still chilling no matter how one looks at it :
Labeling Facebook as "the most appalling spying machine ever invented," Assange told Russia Today..."What's more, he says, any time a user updates their profile, adds friends or otherwise reveals more personal information, they "are doing free work for U.S. intelligence agencies."
The Electronic Privacy Information Center ... said ... that the social network informed Rep. Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Barton (R-TX) "that it will go forward with a proposal to provide users' addresses and mobile phone numbers to third-party application developers."