Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has found itself amidst another controversy, as the social media giant was caught in a hypocritical act of publicly condemning data scraping while secretly paying a contractor to scrape data from other websites. As reported by Bloomberg, the unexpected revelation came to light when Meta sued the Israel-based data collection company, Bright Data, for harvesting and selling information from Facebook and Instagram.
So why was Meta scraping data?
According to Meta spokesman Andy Stone, the company used Bright Data’s services to gather data from e-commerce sites to create brand profiles and identify harmful websites and phishing operations. Stone justified Meta’s actions by stating that data scraping can serve legitimate purposes when done lawfully and in accordance with a website’s terms.
It is also important to note that data scraping is not necessarily illegal or unethical, but companies must ensure that they adhere to all regulations and respect user privacy. Meta ended its agreement with Bright Data after the latter allegedly violated its terms by prohibiting the automated collection and selling of data. In response, Bright Data filed a countersuit against Meta, asking for permission to continue scraping data from Facebook and Instagram. Further, the company also noted that they only collect publicly available information.
Ethical implications of Meta’s involvement
This incident raises some serious questions about Meta’s ethics, as the company has taken a hard line against scraping-for-hire services and has even sued several companies, including Voyager Labs, Octopus, and BrandTotal Ltd. The fact that Meta was paying a contractor to scrape data from other websites while publicly condemning the practice raises doubts about the company’s commitment to user privacy and data protection.
Additionally, this revelation is likely to further damage the company’s reputation and credibility. As of November, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) imposed a fine of €265 million for failing to protect user data against scraping that exposed private information.