2018 has been something of a… regrettable year for Facebook. They were already in hot water over allegations of Russian-bought political advertisements in the US, so when news of the Cambridge Analytica data leak broke, it’s not surprising that users were up in arms. So what happened, why was it allowed to happen, and what can your business learn from the social media giant’s mistake?
In case you missed the story, Cambridge Analytica is a right-wing political consulting firm who managed to get their hands on some 87 million Facebook users’ ‘likes’ through a third party ‘personality quiz’ app in which users were unknowingly sharing information about their own Facebook friends. This data was then used to target potentially receptive users and swing voters with political adverts in favor of Donald Trump’s campaign.
In a world where more and more companies are conducting at least some, if not the majority of their business online and through their websites, your company’s responsibility to protect the private data of your users is becoming ever more critical. And if Facebook managed to get this wrong despite all of their know-how and industry expertise, then the time to look at how well your company protects your clients’ data is definitely sooner rather than later!
While many people understand that the ‘cost’ of using a free service like Facebook is that any personal details you share on the site are going to be used to market products and services to you, the scale of users’ outrage shows that maybe this wasn’t quite as clear to everyone! And no doubt there was a line crossed here, but how much of the responsibility lay with Facebook to make their users aware of this?
When’s the last time you updated your T’s and C’s?
In your own business, transparency and openness can go a long way to gaining your users trust in a world where we’re all still very wary of fine print. By making your legally binding documents as clear and simple for the average user to understand as possible, you can make it plain that you’re not trying to hide anything from them.
Teaming up with a legal team designed to offer support for entrepreneurs and small businesses like Schoeman Law can be a great first step for companies that don’t have the financial clout of a social media giant. The fine print should always be there for customers who want to access it, especially now that more people are going to start taking what data they share with the companies they do business with more seriously.
Be proactive:
On your website, always make it clear that you’re taking steps to protect your users’ private data. Taking a proactive approach is always the best way to avoid a scandal before it happens. If something goes wrong, let your users know on your own terms so you’re in control of the message. By the time Facebook responded, sensational headlines had already turned the scandal into something bigger than it might have been otherwise.
That said, there were many things that Facebook did right. They apologized, with Mark Zuckerberg even going as far as to say: “We have a responsibility to protect your information. If we can’t, we don’t deserve it.” Sadly, it took the firm several days to make this impressive announcement, by which time the headlines were already a little out of control.
Avoid third-party blame games:
Another lesson that can be gleaned from this story is just how important it is to do your homework when you team up with another company or third party. Remember that you’re staking your own reputation on their performance too. It needs to be crystal clear to both parties who is responsible for what, and how your customer’s privacy is going to be respected.
Have a plan:
While mistakes do happen and it’s impossible to prevent every potential PR disaster, how well you recover from one is easier to plan for. It could be the failure of a supplier to deliver stock on time, a glitch on your website, or even the unprofessional behavior of one of your employees. How you handle it however, should always follow a few simple steps:
- Gather the facts quickly and respond fast
- Tell your customers how you’re going to alleviate the problem
- Apologize for the mistake (even if you weren’t entirely at fault!)
- Take immediate action to rectify the situation
- Be honest and offer your customers some refreshing transparency
