Two Australian Facebook executives recently compiled a report outlining how the social networking site is supposedly able to spy on vulnerable users, and can target specific moments when young people might need a confidence boost.
After the accusations were recently made public, Facebook allegedly issued an apology and they say that they are open to an investigation into the accusations.
But then they came out with a second response regarding the event and they instead denied the accusations and claim that they are misleading. They also assert that their company does not have the capability to target users based on their emotional state.
The document that was allegedly compiled by the site's Australian staff, was revealed after it was reported on by The Australian newspaper. The report is said to have detailed exactly how the company goes about analyzing photos and status updates in order to determine if users are feeling useless, nervous, overwhelmed, stressed, and vulnerable.
They also claim that the site has the ability to determine how users will feel at certain times of the week. But again, Facebook has denied these accusations and they claim that advertisers are not able to target teenagers through their site based on their emotions.
But that is essentially all that marketing is; an effort to try and reach out to our emotions in order to convince us to make a purchase.
The documents are also said to have specified that the data analysis regarding vulnerable teens, pertained only to Australia and New Zealand, and not every market.
Since the controversy, the representatives with the Australian branch have issued a formal apology and they say that an investigation is under way. They claim that they need to improve their oversight and better understand the process.
This isn't the first time that Facebook's advertiser practices have come under fire. And the possibility that Facebook might have the ability to either predict or exploit the data of their users isn't news to many who are familiar with the advertising tactics of the site.
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References:
http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/facebook-accused-helping-advertisers-target-vulnerable-teens/1432075
http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/news/facebook-apologises-for-spying-on-moods-of-vulnerable-teens-35671811.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-see-what-facebook-knows-about-you-in-your-ad-preferences-2017-4
https://arstechnica.com/business/2014/06/facebooks-emotional-experiments-on-users-arent-all-bad/
https://arstechnica.com/business/2017/05/facebook-helped-advertisers-target-teens-who-feel-worthless/