Snapchat CEO on Facebook Copying Stories: They Should 'Copy Our Data Protection Practices Also'

[MacRumors]

Recode's annual Code Conference is underway in Rancho Palos Verdes, California this week, and on Tuesday Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel took the stage to discuss the ephemeral app's controversial update, Facebook's copying, and the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Specifically, Spiegel is said to have "poured salt on the wound" during his 40-minute interview with Kara Swisher as he called out Facebook and its ongoing struggles with user privacy. Referencing Facebook's decision to copy Snapchat stories in the Facebook app, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, Spiegel said, "We would really appreciate it if they copied our data protection practices also."

Photo taken by Asa Mathat via Recode​

Snapchat is built around the idea that messages and photos that users send on the platform all disappear after a pre-set amount of time, providing some sense of security within the iOS and Android app. Facebook, on the other hand, is "just a bunch of features" -- now including ephemeral stories -- placed within an app without an underlying philosophy of user privacy, Spiegel argued.

Spiegel said Facebook -- whose name he repeatedly declined to utter -- has failed to sufficiently overhaul its user privacy protections after the Cambridge Analytica scandal exploded earlier this spring.

"Fundamentally, I think the changes have to go beyond window dressing to real changes to the ways that these platforms work," he said.

Spiegel ultimately said that he thinks Snapchat will survive competitors copying the app, because while other platforms are forcing people to "compete with their friends for 'Likes'", Snapchat is focused on communicating with close friends. So, while Facebook imitates its features, the CEO remained confident that Snapchat's "values are hard to copy."

Snapchat hasn't been without its own data leak scandals, however, and Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos took to Twitter to point that out. Stamos said that "poor API security" has been a factor that led to mass leaks of compromising user photos. "So no, I don't think copying Snapchat would be a smart move" for Facebook, he finished.

Many companies have voiced their opinions on the Facebook data scandal, including Apple and CEO Tim Cook, who said he "wouldn't be in this situation" when asked what he would do if he was Mark Zuckerberg.

Article Link: Snapchat CEO on Facebook Copying Stories: They Should 'Copy Our Data Protection Practices Also'

 

[martyjmclean]

They’re both as bad as each other.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Does he mean like in 2014 when millions of Snapchat accounts were hacked? Maybe he shouldn't be talking trash.

https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/01/tech/social-media/snapchat-hack/index.html

 

[spyguy10709]

Fight! Fight! Fight!

 

[alexcanton]

Does he mean like in 2014 when millions of Snapchat accounts were hacked? Maybe he shouldn't be talking trash.

https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/01/tech/social-media/snapchat-hack/index.html

Couldn’t find a better source than CNN?

 

[Hastings101]

Couldn’t find a better source than CNN?

I don't think we really need a peer review journal article just to remember snapchat was hacked

 

[arnoz]

Couldn’t find a better source than CNN?

Fox, maybe?

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Couldn’t find a better source than CNN?

Here are a few more sources on that, since it seems you don't remember the very public event when it happened:

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-25572661
https://www.nbcnews.com/technolog/s...-6-million-users-reportedly-leaked-2D11833474
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...t-hack-46-million-users-affected-9033983.html
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/02/snapchat-hack-exposes-46-million-users
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/tec...ieved-to-have-hit-4-6-million-users-1.1642170
https://socialnewsdaily.com/22047/s...6-million-accounts/snapchat-hack-4-6-million/
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/01...fter-hacking-exposes-millions-user-phone.html
https://venturebeat.com/2014/01/02/snapchat-confirms-leak-of-4-6m-usernames-doesnt-apologize/

If you want to go even further, here's Snapchats own acknowledgement of the incident:

https://www.snap.com/en-US/news/post/finding-friends-with-phone-numbers/
https://www.snap.com/en-US/news/post/find-friends-abuse/

And if you don't believe even Snapchat themselves, you can search Google for 'SnapchatDB' and look at all the usernames and passwords yourself.

 

[slimtastic]

They're both pretty bad when it comes to privacy. If you value yours, don't use either.

 

[555gallardo]

Leaking thousands of nude pics, that's how Snapchat protects user data. Do they even GDPR?

 

[dpelletier360]

Does he mean like in 2014 when millions of Snapchat accounts were hacked? Maybe he shouldn't be talking trash.

https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/01/tech/social-media/snapchat-hack/index.html

Not saying that’s not serious. But data security isn’t 100% the same thing as data privacy. Yeah there’s an overlap, like what you don’t secure isn’t private. But the fact is that Snapchat doesn’t give your data to other people other than your friends and Snapchat does make me think they’re better than Facebook. Facebook gives your data to almost any third party that will pay them enough. Don’t believe me, check yourself.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Not saying that’s not serious. But data security isn’t 100% the same thing as data privacy. Yeah there’s an overlap, like what you don’t secure isn’t private. But the fact is that Snapchat doesn’t give your data to other people other than your friends and Snapchat does make me think they’re better than Facebook. Facebook gives your data to almost any third party that will pay them enough. Don’t believe me, check yourself.

Snapchat does the same as far as giving customer data to 3rd party partners. Don't believe me, check their user agreement.

 

[dpelletier360]

Snapchat does the same as far as giving customer data to 3rd party partners. Don't believe me, check their user agreement.

I know they collect data from 3rd parties. But I was fairly confident last time I check they data they gathered off their platform wasn’t sold the same way Facebook sells data. Snapchat and Facebook sell adverstisements. But you can buy and sell ads without the people running the ad having the customer data. I thought this is how Snapchat operates. People pay Snapchat to market their ads for them. As where Facebook gives all that info to third parties