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Americans less likely to trust Facebook over scandal: Poll

Monday, 26 March 2018 9:08 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 26 March 2018 9:35 AM ]

This file photo taken on November 20, 2017 shows logos of US online social media service Facebook.

Fewer than half of Americans trust Facebook to obey US privacy laws, highlighting the challenge facing the social media company after a scandal over its handling of personal information, according to a new poll.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, released on Sunday, also found that fewer Americans trust Facebook than other US tech companies that gather user data, such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple and Amazon.

Some 41 percent of Americans trust Facebook to obey laws that protect their personal information, compared with 66 percent who said they trust Amazon, 62 percent who trust Google, 60 percent for Microsoft and 47 percent for Yahoo.

The survey alos found that 46 percent of adults want the government to take a bigger role in overseeing the industry’s handling of user information.

Facebook has been offering apologies as it tries to repair its reputation for mistakes that allowed the data of 50 million users get into the hands of a British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

The consultancy firm was hired in 2016 by US President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign to predict and influence voters' choices at the ballot box.

Facebook, the world's largest social media company with more than 2 billion monthly active users, made almost all its $40 billion in revenue last year from advertising.

One reason Facebook and other internet companies collect personal information from users is to deliver targeted advertising.

Some 63 percent said they would like to see “less targeted advertising” in the future, while 9 percent said they wanted more, the poll found.

PressTV-Zuckerberg apologizes as Facebook scandal grows

The chairman of Facebook has vowed to take measures to protect the personal information of people who use the US social media giant.

Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized for the data breach, vowing to take measures to protect the personal information of people who use the social media service.

The data scandal has increased pressure on Facebook, which was already under fire for allowing fake news to proliferate on its platform during the 2016 US presidential election.

A movement to quit the social network has gathered momentum, while a handful of lawsuits emerged which could turn into class actions in a costly distraction for the company.

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