Americans Losing Trust in Facebook, Zuckerberg

According to Reuters, Americans are increasingly skeptical of Facebook integrity when it comes to protecting private and personal data, with fewer than half of Americans trusting the social media platform to adhere to federal privacy policies. After new information was revealed about Facebook’s oversight in allowing third-parties access to user’s information without full consent, Mark Zuckerberg apologized for the major ‘breach of trust.’

The company published an ad in major papers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal that said in white text on top of a blue background, “We have a responsibility to protect your information. If we can’t, we don’t deserve it,” with the Facebook logo sitting small in the corner of the ad.

This attempt to repair its reputation among users proved futile, with shares dropping by 14% in just one week, and a viral hashtag #DeleteFacebook reiterating a no-tolerance policy when it comes to tech giants acting without integrity. According to the Reuters/Ipsos online poll, a mere 41% of Americans trust Facebook when it comes to their personal information, which pales in comparison to Amazon’s 66% and Google’s 62%.

U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has called on Zuckerberg to testify in person before US lawmakers, claiming that the Facebook founder was not ‘fully forthcoming’ when it came to breach involving Cambridge Analytica, who allegedly tampered with the US election by using illicitly-obtained data to advertise to voters.

Just because people have lost trust in the platform does not mean that Facebook will necessarily die. Mobile and desktop usage of Facebook has not dropped significantly since the scandal and Facebook is so integrated into people’s lives on an international scale that the idea of Zuckerberg bouncing back from this unscathed is not so far-fetched.

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