Step 1: List of Stakeholders
Shareholders:
Meta shareholders: These are investors and owners who profit
directly from Facebook’s business model, which is driven by
advertising and data monetization.
Producers:
- Facebook employees: This includes those in product
development, data management, legal, and advertising
departments who are involved in the creation, management, and
enforcement of data policies.
- Facebook management and executives: These are
decision-makers who oversee the company’s data strategies and
policies.
- Competitors: Other companies like Google, Twitter, and TikTok
also collect user data and face similar scrutiny regarding data
privacy practices.
- Third-party developers and advertisers: These are businesses that
use Facebook’s platform to collect user data and leverage it for
advertisements and service enhancements.
Directly Impacted Members of the Public:
- Facebook users: The individuals whose personal data is collected,
analyzed, and potentially shared with third parties, often without
complete transparency.
- Governments/regulatory bodies: Regulatory entities such as the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and European data regulators
(e.g., GDPR) are directly impacted, as they must monitor and
regulate Facebook's practices.
Indirectly Impacted Members of the Public:
- Future generations of users: They may face long-term impacts on
privacy norms due to the data practices established today.
- Non-users of Facebook: People who don’t use Facebook but are
indirectly impacted by the data practices of companies using
Facebook’s advertising tools to target users beyond the platform.
Public Goods:
- Public trust in online platforms: When data is mishandled, there is
an erosion of trust in social media platforms as a whole.
- Public discourse : The manipulation of information, which is
facilitated by data profiling, can affect democracy and public opinion
by spreading misinformation and shaping beliefs.
Step 2: Harmed vs. Benefited Stakeholders
Meta shareholders are benefited by Facebook’s data monetization.
The revenue driven by advertising based on user data helps ensure
high profits for investors.
Facebook employees experience mixed outcomes. They benefit
from job security and opportunities within the company, but some
employees may face ethical dilemmas and feel conflicted by the
company's data policies, which could harm their sense of
professional ethics.
Facebook management and executives are benefited by the
company’s strategies. They receive profits, bonuses, and
recognition for the company’s continued success through data
monetization.
Competitors like Google and Twitter experience mixed outcomes.
They may benefit if Facebook faces public backlash, but since they
employ similar data practices, they also share risks of similar
scrutiny and potential damage to their own reputations.
Third-party developers and advertisers are benefited. They gain
access to user data for targeted advertising, which increases the
effectiveness of their marketing and product development efforts.
Facebook users are harmed. Their privacy is often violated, and
their personal data may be misused, creating concerns about
transparency and consent.
Governments and regulatory bodies are harmed. They struggle to
regulate and enforce protections against evolving data practices,
often finding themselves outpaced by technological advancements.
Future generations of users are harmed. The current approach to
data collection and privacy may erode future standards, creating a
world where privacy norms are significantly weakened.
Non-users of Facebook are harmed. Even though they don’t use
the platform, they can be affected by the data-driven practices of
companies that use Facebook’s advertising tools to target them or
shape their online experience.
Public trust in online platforms is harmed. When users’ data is
mishandled or manipulated, trust in Facebook and other social
media platforms diminishes, making people more wary of using
these services.
Public discourse is harmed. Data profiling can lead to the
manipulation of information, such as through targeted
misinformation, which undermines democratic processes and
harms the overall quality of public discourse.
