Facebook scandal: an agency view

VCCP Media’s Catherine Becker gives her view on one of the better Facebook apologies – and outlines what the data breach scandal means for users and advertisers moving forward

Much has been written about the Facebook data breach with Cambridge Analytica and the wider implications around transparency and data protection.

It was therefore interesting to watch the response of Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg, in an interview on CNBC last Friday (below).

She eloquently delivered all the key elements needed in crisis management. Firstly, she said sorry. She then showed the quick and detailed measures Facebook is putting in place to rectify the situation.

Facebook accepted this was a huge breach in trust and were sorry to let people down. Sandberg explained that years ago they had changed the platform to stop third-party companies using their data. What they had not done is gone back historically to delete it. They had been assured it was deleted but had not checked.

Importantly, they were now putting in strong steps to investigate and audit apps (although it was separately reported that they had known about this since 2015 so should have acted quicker).

Their users would also have much more transparent access to who was using their data too. This would be done through machine learning and AI – both of which had already been effectively used at scale to eradicate 99% of extremist content from the platform.

Sandberg also said Facebook would invest in hiring many more people to ensure data breaches did not occur in future and go back historically too.

Ultimately, this is all about trust – of the users and the shareholders – that they are taking all steps to rectify and expose this. We will be keeping a close eye on this, but essentially Facebook is still a huge platform for reach and engagement – so as long as it continues to make positive measures it is one that is invaluable to advertisers.

Finally, she also pointed out a key factor that Facebook is a free platform. As a value exchange, users need to expect to be served ads, and relevant targeted ones are better than annoying, irrelevant ones.

The important thing is they are confident that this data is not abused or used for personal, rather than aggregated data purposes, especially with the upcoming GDPR changes.

If they can maintain this they will continue to be an effective channel for advertisers. And similarly advertisers need to respect the platform by using frequency caps to relevant audiences at aggregated level to maximise the effects and keep the users engaged.

​Of course, this is in the context of much negativity: Apologies arriving too late, political abuse and manipulation, tax avoidance and the #deletefacebook campaign. As a result, a real lesson has been learned in the need to be transparent and fair to users, advertisers and the wider public.

Catherine Becker is CEO of VCCP Media