Marc Rotenberg EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center https://www.facebook.com/marc.rotenberg/posts/10155256252406875 Tips for reporters, members of Congress, and staff for Day #2 of the Facebook hearings: 1: Don't say "sell" data or "share" data. Do say "track" users and "profile" users 2: Don't ask about privacy protections for WhatsApp. Do ask about privacy protections for Messenger. 3: Don't "threaten" regulation. Do ask (yourself) why Facebook, unlike other large companies, is not regulated. 4: Don't ask about "data portability." Do ask if there is another company that competes directly with Facebook as a social network service. 5: Don't ask about auditing Apps. Do ask for a list of user data elements that Facebook typically transfers to Apps. 6: Don't ask what users can do to protect their privacy. Do ask what steps Facebook took after the 2011 FTC consent order to protect user privacy. 7: Don't ask about user "choices." Do ask why Facebook users in the United States have fewer privacy protections than Facebook users in Europe. 8: Don't restate the fact that the records of 87 million Facebook users were obtained by Cambridge Analytica. Do ask what steps Facebook took to notify users once it became aware of the breach. 9: Don't ask how Facebook will respond to the problem of fake news. Do ask if just one company should be responsible for responding to the problem of fake news. 10: Don't ask Mr. Zuckerberg to testify before more committees. Do ask the FTC to testify and explain why the Commission never enforced the consent order. 11: Don't be overwhelmed when Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will use "AI" to solve a problem. He is describing the automation of a process. Nothing more. 12: Don't assume that Facebook has a good understanding of the threats it faces or that it has been forthcoming with Congress. Do ask about independent systems of oversight and accountability, particularly for data protection. 13: Don't ask about privacy policies. Do ask about Facebook matching online activity with offline activity, such as instore purchases. Bonus if you ask whether Facebook users have any idea the company is doing that. 14: Don't ask about discrimination in the abstract. Do ask if Facebook will show users the precise demographics, such as race, age, sexual identity, religion, and likes, that generate targeted ads. (We call this "algorithmic transparency.") 15: Don't ask about Facebook promoting democracy around the world. Do ask why Facebook no longer allows the "Facebook" name in groups if users want to protest Facebook's privacy practices. (Search history of "Facebook Users Against New ToS" which FB renamed "People Against New ToS") 16: Don't ask about how Facebook enables businesses to establish a presence on Facebook. Do ask whether it would be better if businesses created an Internet presence with their own domains. 17: Don't ask Facebook what type of privacy law it could accept. Do ask yourself what type of privacy law would be necessary to protect the personal data of your constituents, friends, and family members from misuse by the largest corporation in the history of the world.