Security expert: Facebook’s response to privacy scandal is bogus

By: Nicolas V.

Sheryl Sandberg has roundly dismissed criticisms of Facebook for its latest privacy fiasco, but security experts aren’t buying it.

Facebook’s chief operating officer made an appearance on CNBC after it emerged that the social network was paying users — some as young as 13 — to install an iPhone app that sucked up info about their phone habits. These users, Sandberg said, knew what they were getting themselves into.

“There is a rigorous consent flow and people are compensated,” Sandberg said, noting that underage participants received parental consent.

Sandberg made the remarks a day after Apple smacked Facebook for giving consumers access to the app through a channel reserved for developers.

Apple stripped Facebook of key developer privileges it needs to test its products on the iPhone as a result.

It’s the latest string of privacy scandals to plague the social networking behemoth in recent months, including revelations in 2018 that a UK consulting firm improperly used data on millions of Facebook users for election ads during the 2016 presidential contest.

But security expert Will Strafach, who helped investigate the research app when TechCrunch first reported the story, threw cold water on Sandberg’s explanations.

“I don’t think it gave enough information to parents at all. I think it was intentionally vague,” Strafach said.

Facebook shares were impervious to the controversy, ending the day up 11 percent, at $166.69, following a stellar earnings report.