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Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says he's quitting Facebook: 'You are the product'

MARKETWATCH 8:38 AM ET 4/9/2018
Symbol Last Price Change
FB 157.2 0 (0%)
QUOTES AS OF 04:15:00 PM ET 04/06/2018

Apple Inc. (AAPL) co-founder Steve Wozniak said he's leaving Facebook(FB) amid concerns about privacy and data violations.

"Users provide every detail of their life to Facebook(FB)," he told USA today in an email (https://www.usatoday.com/story/ tech/2018/04/08/apple-co-founder-steve-wozniak-says-hes-leaving-facebook/497392002/?utm_source=feedblitz). "Facebook(FB) makes a lot of advertising money off this. The profits are all based on the user's info, but the users get none of the profits back."

Wozniak said he'd prefer to pay for the service and have more control over his data. "Apple makes its money off of good products, not off of you," he told the paper. "As they say, with Facebook(FB), you are the product."

Many Facebook Inc.(FB) users are upset about how their information is being used after recent revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a company tied to President Trump's election campaign, scraped data from users and their friends via an online personality test.

Last month, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said Facebook(FB) should have self-regulated itself before reaching this point. "I think the best regulation is no regulation, is self-regulation," he said. "However, I think we're beyond that here."

But Facebook(FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded (https://www.vox.com/2018/4/2/17185052/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-interview- fake-news-bots-cambridge): "The reality here is that if you want to build a service that helps connect everyone in the world, then there are a lot of people who can't afford to pay."

Last week, Facebook(FB) said 87 million people were impacted, up from a previous estimate of 50 million people. Zuckerberg said most of the company's 2.2 billion users likely have had their public profile information scraped by outsiders (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-says-up-to-87-million-accounts-were-affected-by-cambridge-analytica-scandal- issues-update-on-new-data-policies-2018-04-04) without their explicit permission.

Starting Monday, people who use the social network should start finding out whether their data was shared with Cambridge Analytica. They will get a message served to them in their news feed, the Associated Press reported (https:// www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/04/08/facebook-users-find-out-if-their-data-shared-cambridge-analytica-starting- monday/498004002/).

Check out:Facebook's biggest threat is coming from this obvious place (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebooks- biggest-threat-is-coming-from-this-obvious-place-2018-04-09)

And see:What Facebook and other tech leaders must do now to win back our trust (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what- facebook-and-other-tech-leaders-must-do-now-to-win-back-our-trust-2018-04-09)

Last week, Facebook's(FB) chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg denied Edward Snowden's characterization of Facebook(FB) as a surveillance operation.

Speaking on NBC's (CMCSA) "Today" show, Sandberg said, "I don't think that's true and I don't think that's fair. Facebook(FB) at its core is a sharing service. We are not sweeping up data. People are inputting data. People are sharing data with Facebook(FB)."

Guthrie said Facebook(FB) uses data to sell advertisements. "Here's how we're using it: We're using it to personalize your service," she told Guthrie. "So, let's talk about the data you put on Facebook(FB). So, one piece of data you put on Facebook(FB) is who you connect to and your friends. We show you in your news feed posts from people you've connected to. That's how we're using your data."

Don't miss: What Zuckerberg didn't say: You risk more than your data on Facebook(FB) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ the-more-you-endlessly-scroll-on-facebook-the-bigger-the-risk-to-your-mental-health-2018-01-12)

Facebook (FB) users are not shy about sharing the most intimate details of their lives online. People use the free service to network and log into their Tinder (IAC) account and will share the most intimate details of their lives, including their employment history, educational achievements, hopes, dreams, family photographs and "like" certain brands without a second thought.

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook(FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged to be more careful when vetting third party apps, but said fixing the problem could take years (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zuckerberg- deletefacebook-has-not-had-effect-but-it-will-take-years-to-fix-facebook-2018-04-04). It's not clear how many of Facebook's(FB) 2.2 billion users deleted their account, even though #DeleteFacebook has been trending on Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook(FB) . Zuckerberg said the #DeleteFacebook protests had no "meaningful impact."

The S&P 500 , weighed down by the FANGs -- Facebook(FB), Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL) -- has had nearly 50 trading sessions without hitting new high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has experienced several months of volatility.

-Quentin Fottrell; 415-439-6400; [e-mail]

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04-09-180838ET
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