MN, FB, marketing companies and our data

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Hi MN,

Several people expressed concerns about privacy when you introduced the logging in via fb ability. I've a few questions to ask at this point and as there will be other people here who are far more expert in online data on here, these are questions best asked in public. You will know me as a long termer here, who clearly enjoys using this site.

Firstly, with regards to GDPR, how will you be complying with the requirements of new legislation?

How much data do you hold on us? Who do you share it with and how is our information held?

When we fill out daft and not so daft marketing surveys on here, what are the data protection requirements incumbent on both yourselves and the marketing companies?

Have Cambridge Analytica ever been one of the companies that have gathered data through you, either overtly, or covertly under other trading names?

Have any other analytical companies gather political or other information on users, other than for marketing products purposes?

Please can you reiterate and summarise what permissions are given to facebook when logging into this site. Are these permissions limited to data held only by the user, or to their friends list as well?

How absolutely sure can you be that facebook have not also gathered information from mn beyond the permissions explicitly given? Are these reassurances purely given by facebook, or have you looked specifically about the data protection side with your own experts?

How does mn benefit from logging in through fb? Did they approach you for this, or did you approach them? Do you hold any data about users from their fb profiles?

I realise this is a long list of detailed questions that may take time to answer them. But I do feel they are important questions. Thank you.

I'm with Assigned. While I do agree MN should be more open about their data sharing and processing; some of your questions will not be short or easy answers. They're hugely complex.

They are hugely complex, but I hope mn treats them as serious questions and do their best. They know they have an intelligent membership, I'm hopeful they will respond to the best of their ability.

One could argue that if it is too complex to explain here, then perhaps this is something to be concerned about.

This is going to be requirement under GDPR I believe so regardless of complexity, it's hopefully something they've already thought about and got in place.

We are a small business and have started getting it together, though it's a lot easier as none of it is internet-related and is predominantly paper based. With the deadline fast approaching, I'd imagine MN started working on this ages ago, particularly as how they process data must be complicated and would take awhile to organise so they're compliant.

I didn't mean they shouldn't answer Kitten, sorry I wasn't suggesting that it was so complicated that we couldn't understand with our lady brains .

It's just that it will be hard to give answers because each one will produce so many counter questions.

But def looking forward to their response and thanks for bringing it up.

I've also been having to make my business Gdpr compliant. Fortunately it is very simple for me.

Lol Puuurfect!
Its good to let mn know that we appreciate that this may be challenging. Hopefully as Pain says they should be a long way towards being able to answer with GDPR looming.

Hard questions. I known some analytical companies which gather information on different companies and people who are connected with them. For example datapo, it's the largest database of companies from all over the world. With its help every user can find detailed info about company from company registration data to its shareholders/directors/employees and financial reports.

If these questions are too hard for mn to answer, then how secure is any data we provide to mn?

Perhaps if the first level can be answered more easily - the direct data sharing agreements between mn and the various different companies they directly deal with.
Then we can build from there.

Lol!!!!!

Something picked up the word 'direct' in that post, now I'm seeing adverts on my phone for sports direct.
Must have a look at my cookies later.

Thank you for the link WillieG

You can see the tracking and advertising type companies mumsnet use in builtwith.com/mumsnet.com just gives the built in basics type thing though, not what 3rd party companies that possibly get used/sold to.

I'm a little disappointed that mn haven't even acknowledged this thread.

I have NEVER logged into MN with my FB ID
I recently went right through my FB privacy and app settings
I have multiple adblockers on my Laptop and PC

WE are the product
WE must accept some responsibility for our actions

as I said on another thread
Tie up your camel, then trust in Allah

In order to accept responsibility we need to have understanding of what the implications are.

I disagree with the "you have to accept responsibility because it's a free website" idea.

A lot of GDPR is about explicit consent, and you can't just assume that people or users are fine with the way you use their data; burying details in fine print isn't okay, and neither is keeping data for longer than necessary.

I'd be perturbed to find that every survey I've filled in on sensitive topics like miscarriage had all been stored systematically along with other details about me, especially after the Jeffrey debacle, even though this is a "free" website. I'd have assumed data was deleted after using it for the statistics needed.

Mogle, it goes further than that potentially if third party organisations have also been able to gather that information and add it to your social media profile for instance.

I'm not saying this has happened, I'm not saying that mn have done anything wrong, I'm asking the questions to hopefully understand who has what information about us.

I am doing training on GDPR and accept that presumed consent is no longer acceptable

but when it all comes out in the wash we have to remember that these sites cost money
we did not pay
so the money had to be made somewhere

That's a separate discussion though.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/20/facebook-is-it-time-we-all-deleted-our-accounts

I read this and deleted the mumsnet app in my Facebook settings. In fact I deleted all the apps - it’s shocking the amount of data that I had just given away

How on earth can MN justify not even acknowledging (sp!) This thread yet?!

As well as looking at your own fb apps check out 'apps others use' in your fb settings. You may get a fright. The option is still there for applications friends use to harvest your data including your timeline posts.

As well as looking at your own fb apps check out 'apps others use' in your fb settings. You may get a fright. The option is still there for applications friends use to harvest your data including your timeline posts.
More significantly, FB itself sees and uses everything you post. Regardless of your privacy settings.

Well yes, but it's also the third party aspect that is the concern.

Hello OhYouBadBadKitten and apols for the delay. As luck would have it most of the community team were gathered at MNHQ today for one of our rare get-togethers, so we've been a bit slow off the mark.

These are all good and useful questions, but ones that I'll need to speak to various office-hours bods to get answers to. Will do that as a priority tomorrow and get back to you asap.

Thanks again

MNHQ

Isn't it shocking that no one at headquarters has had the courtesy to just acknowledge this thread yet?