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Should you be concerned about targeted advertising in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica case?
We have summarized the scandal surrounding the UK data analysis company, whose shameful methods allegedly helped Trump to his constituent victory in 2016. The case has contributed to the fact that a great deal of Facebook users are now worried that Facebook uses personal information against their will. What really happened? We at Emerse, are well aware of the subject. Here you will find answers to the question if we are using similar methods and what dark ads really are.
It’s not surprising that following disclosures in mid-March, people know about the data analysis company Cambridge Analytica’s misuse of personal data. Cambridge Analytica claims to be able to “change audience behaviour†by combining retrieved data with behavioural science. The company has assisted in several election campaigns around the world and used a range of dubious methods to influence voters. They collected, among other things, personal information on about 50 million Facebook users through an app with a personality test. The information was intended to help Donald Trump in the 2016 election by capturing profiles and spreading ads that showed his opponent Hillary Clinton in a bad light.
The scandal grew when it became apparent that Facebook knew about this information leak as early as 2015. They say that the app did not break their agreements at the time as it was understood to be for research purposes. They also state that they did not know the information was passed on and called on Cambridge Analytica to remove the data but failed to follow this up. Neither did they cut ties with Cambridge Analytica until March 2018 after the data issue gained global attention. Investigations have begun and the operators found to be at fault risk large fines.
Katie's Reddit profile are undoubtedly a tough battle for the world’s largest social platform. Many Facebook users worry about Facebook using personal data against their wishes. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly apologized in aninterview with CNN:
“This was a major breach of trust, and I’m really sorry that this happened. We have a basic responsibility to protect people’s data.â€
How does this affect you? Emerse explains:
Emerse worked with the Obama campaign 2012 (Seearticle by the Nordic countries biggest business magazine Dagens Industri) and our CEO Carl-Johan Grund has also held seminars on the subject of the 2016 USA election and about Cambridge Analytica and the Trump campaign, so we are well versed on the subject.
–In general, one should always be careful and aware when it comes to disclosing personal data. While companies are responsible for protecting the data they have access to, as illustrated by Cambridge Analytica , everything indicates that there was no such protection, says Shirin Ghanfili, Head of the Ad Operations team at Emerse.
–We do not use Cambridge Analytica’s services in any way, nor would we hire them for our customers. Emerse does not purchase audience data of the kind used by Cambridge Analytica, for example, Facebook Quiz apps with the purpose of building a psychographic profile. In Sweden, it is forbidden to keep a register of people’s opinions. The target audience data we use at Emerse for Facebook is built solely with the tools provided by Facebook for every advertiser. In other words, we have unique data, but Facebook rules stipulate how data may be used. We do not use any other tools beyond these, confirms Shirin.
–It might sound dangerous, manipulative or even illegal. However in truth, dark ads are nothing more than ads created on Facebook where the actual ad is not visible in the usual feed on your Facebook page. There is relevant information about the advertiser, but not the actual ad. Dark posts are the same, the difference is that entries are created in the Facebook Power Editor and this post is not published on its own website, but is promoted to different audiences. “Dark posts†are now called “unpublished mailâ€. In general, dark posts and dark ads are the same. Of course both of these could be used incorrectly depending on how they are implemented!
We run both at Emerse in accordance with Facebook’s criteria and regulations, backed up by our own policies. This means that we never advertise ads that are not appropriate or relevant to the company, product or service in question. We only work with legitimate pages and ads that are relevant to those pages. Therefore, we always communicate with the customer’s name as a sender and never work with so-called “fake accountsâ€. We never buy follower or “likes†and do not use “botsâ€, which are computer programs that work relatively independently, so-called software robots.
–Yes, Facebook has recently announced a series of actions to recover consumer confidence following the Cambridge Analytica scandal and lessons learned. Here are some of them, described briefly:
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