Despite Facebook’s recent data scandal that affected 50 million users, a new poll shows that most Americans haven’t done much to protect their privacy online.
The poll, conducted by Reuters and Ipsos, found that 86 percent of people have not changed their login credentials on Facebook, Twitter or other social media platforms, while 78 percent have not switched to “private mode” on their browser.
So what are people doing to protect their identities online? About 17 percent of adults, or about one in six, said they protect themselves simply by placing tape over the camera of their computer or device.
And despite the scandal, Facebook is still the most popular social media network in the U.S., with more than half of adults saying they access the site throughout the day.
While Facebook’s mishandling of their users’ data might not be affecting its popularity, the social media site – and its founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg – are taking heat from some of technology’s biggest names.
According to Quartz Media, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, whose company was sold to Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, jumped on the #deletefacebook movement, writing on Twitter on March 20, “It’s time.”
Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk deleted both companies’ Facebook pages, stating “It’s not a political statement and I didn’t do this because someone dared me to do it. Just don’t like Facebook. Gives me the willies. Sorry.”
And when Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked what he would do if he were in Zuckerberg’s shoes, Cook replied, “I wouldn’t be in this situation.”
These public statements mark a turning point in Silicon Valley culture, according to Leslie Berlin, author of Troublemakers: Silicon Valley’s Coming of Age.
“Until very recently, it was taken as a given that tech equaled progress and tech equaled good and tech equaled economic strength,” Berlin told The New York Times.
