Facebook is facing the worst controversy of its existence. The Cambridge Analytica scandal has driven stocks down and caused people to deactivate their Facebook accounts. The scandal surrounding the social media site comes from a data hack that was technically against the website's policy. Cambridge Analytica collected information from Facebook users for research, but then turned around and distributed the information for marketing purposes. President Trump’s 2016 election campaign hired Cambridge Analytica, and gained access to the private information for use in predicting American personalities in connection with political preferences. Over 50 million Facebook users' information was handed over to Trump's campaign.
Right on time, Mozilla Firefox is offering an extension that makes it much harder for Facebook to track users' movements online. Facebook has complicated tracker algorithms that can tell where users shop and visit. For example, have you ever been at a restaurant and had your phone notifications ask you if you enjoyed the food, or to take pictures of the establishment? Information like that can be collected by Facebook so they can suggest things you may like in comparison.
Mozilla says its Facebook Container extension will keep browsing information private (which can be helpful in a number of circumstances), and it will also fight Facebook's tracking algorithms to give users a less intrusive experience. In a blog post, Mozilla keeps it honest, and reveals that their technology would not have stopped instances like the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The extension is built to help users remain more anonymous to trackers.
