Dec 16, 2018

Question of the Day: What tech company do people trust the least with their personal information?

Answer: Facebook

Questions:

  • Why do you think that consumers place so little trust in Facebook protecting their information? Did any story over the last year stand out in your mind? 
  • Are you more or less worried about the protection of your online personal information compared to a year ago? Explain.
  • Describe how you have changed your behavior online as more information comes out about how companies are using your personal information.
  • Would you ever not do business with a company if you didn't trust their policies about safeguarding your information? 

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Recode)

A lot of people thought about deleting their Facebook account in 2018. There was even a #DeleteFacebook campaign. Again and again users were reminded that they were products, not the social media company’s customers.

This year, more evidence emerged showing how Facebook was manipulated to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. We also found out that a third party, Cambridge Analytica, was able to collect information on countless Facebook userswithout their permission. Most recently, we learned that top Facebook executives sought to keep some of this information hidden.

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Interested in this topic of information security? Check out this NGPF interactive, Have You Been Hacked?

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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