[kictanet] Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Share Data with Location-based Social Media Surveillance Startup
Ngigi Waithaka
ngigi at at.co.ke
Thu Oct 13 20:33:16 EAT 2016
Ebele,
There is something about this that I am not understanding.
If the APIs only allows a developer to access *publicly* available information
that is in the FB Platform, why would it be illegal for law enforcement /
intelligence to even access it?
It can *only* be a problem if the API allows accessing *private *information
from FB users.
Which then brings us to an even *bigger problem*; is FB allowing developers to
access our private information and messaging on FB for commercial purposes?
Regards
Sent from [Nylas N1](https://nylas.com/n1?ref=n1), the extensible, open source
mail client.
On Oct 12 2016, at 8:58 pm, Ebele Okobi via kictanet
<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Yes-this is a mess, and this article isn't an accurate report. Basically-
this was a private company that set itself up as a developer-same as, say,
Candy Crush makers or those quiz things about your friends on FB. As a
developer, it got access to API (see here <http://readwrite.com/2013/09/19
/api-defined/> for definition) that allowed it to build programs into FB. This
allowed it to write programs targeting publicly available information on FB
platform. That means-no private chats, no private groups, no data that users
haven't made publicly available. The point of APIs in this context is SUPPOSED
to be so advertisers (from small business to nonprofits to Andela, etc.) can
send ads to targeted users. This group completely violated our policies and
used their API access to target publicly available info to send to police. FB
has kicked them off our platform. As you can imagine, there are many
conversations now about this. But key to know that FB did NOT and does not
sell user data; that this was a completely unauthorized use of our developer
platform, that we rectified this as soon as we were notified, that the access
was not to user data, but essentially a program that allowed them to target
public info on Facebook. It's still unacceptable, and something we are taking
extremely seriously.
>
>
Ebele Okobi | Public Policy Director, Africa
>
> m. [+44 (0) 771 156 1315](tel:+44%20\(0\)%20771%20156%201315)
>
> [10 Brock Street | London](x-apple-data-detectors://0/1) | NW1 3FG
>
> [ebeleokobi at fb.com](mailto:ebeleokobi at fb.com)
>
>
>
> 
>
>
On Oct 12, 2016, at 5:43 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet
<[kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke](mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke)> wrote:
>
>> _The ACLU of California has obtained records showing that Twitter,
Facebook, and Instagram provided user data access to Geofeedia, a developer of
a social media monitoring product that we have seen marketed to law
enforcement as a tool to monitor activists and protesters. We are pleased that
after we reported our findings to the companies, Instagram cut off Geofeedia’s
access to public user posts, and Facebook has cut its access to a topic-based
feed of public user posts._
>>
>> More here: [ https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-future/facebook-instagram-and-
twitter-provided-data-access-surveillance-product-
marketed](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.aclu
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>>
>>
\--
>>
>> **Ahmed Maawy**
Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO)
Curator - Global Shapers Mombasa Hub
Ambassador - Open Knowledge
Director - Startup Grind Mombasa
Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer
(KE) +254 714 960 627
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