An open letter to Facebook: Dear Facebook, It has been recently revealed that Facebook manipulated results that were fed into 690,000 Facebook users newsfeeds in 2011 as part of a study conducted by researchers from Cornell and UCSF, without the knowledge, consent or permission of Facebook users, causing an accumulation of either negative or positive emotional content to appear on these users pages. I believe that the methods used in this study are unethical in the extreme, manipulative, crass and a further example of bad corporate leadership at Facebook. In the future, Facebook should desist in using its user base as guinea pigs. In the coming investigation, and dont doubt that there will be an investigation into this study, Facebook will be asked to divulge the names of all 690,000 Facebook users who were affected. I call on Facebook to be open and honest about this list of users, and to prepare itself to offer reparations for the psychological damages it has potentially done to these people, all of whom signed up for a service that should not have performed secret psychological studies on them. It is common and ethical practice to do research studies on volunteers who have been given full disclosure of the nature of the study, who have been given compensation for participation, and who are able to opt out of volunteering. It is highly unethical and potentially illegal to conduct studies on people who have not been given disclosure or permission. Furthermore, If I personally find that I am a member of this group of Facebook users who were selected for this study, I would be certain to investigate my legal options, and most certainly will think twice about my continued use of Facebook. Facebook, you are on notice. Do the right thing. Regards, Matthew Chenoweth Wright, Petaluma. CA
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 16:38:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015