Recently made public court papers show that Facebook started a secret project in 2016 called “Project Ghostbusters.” This news has shocked the tech industry. What is the goal? To listen in on and analyze the network data going between Snapchat’s computers and app users. The goal of this secret operation was to learn more about how users behave and get an edge over Snapchat.
Decrypting Traffic That Was Encrypted
Snapchat uses encryption, which makes things very hard for Facebook. How could they look at how users interacted with the site without having direct access to the data? The answer was to create special technology that could get around cryptography.
The “Man-in-the-Middle” Method
Engineers at Facebook used Onavo, a VPN-like service that the company bought in 2013. One idea from the Onavo team was to make “kits” that could be put on both iOS and Android devices. These kits snuck in traffic for certain sub-domains, which let Facebook read data that would normally be protected. A “man-in-the-middle” attack let Facebook track how people used apps, even ones that were protected, like Snapchat.
What happened and what the law says about it
The recently published public papers show how Facebook tried to get an edge over rivals like Amazon, Snapchat, and YouTube. But Project Ghostbusters has effects that go beyond competition between companies. The privacy of users was broken, and the project brings up moral issues about spying on people’s data.
How Facebook has dealt with privacy issues in the past
When Facebook looks at over user data, this isn’t the first time. TechCrunch did an investigation in 2019 that showed Facebook used Onavo to keep track of what its users did on the web. Because of the reactions to that news, the Onavo app was taken offline.
Snapchat, Online Safety, and the World of Technology
In the ongoing fight for user involvement, businesses must find a careful balance between coming up with new ideas and protecting users’ privacy. Project Ghostbusters is a sharp warning that even actions that seem to be temporary can leave digital traces that last for a long time.
Keep up with the tech giants as they walk the fine line between using data to make decisions and losing users’ trust. 🌐🔍
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