What Would Happen If Facebook Shut Down During COVID?

Scientists Analyze Data Privacy Risks

The collapse of social media giants like Facebook could open the floodgates to data privacy problems, scientists have warned.

Although it is unlikely that the tech giant will close given its current state of health, researchers at the University of Oxford have analyzed the implications if Facebook were to suddenly shut down one day.

A paper published in the journal Internet Policy Review sets out four key recommendations to avoid the serious social and economic consequences of such a hypothetical event.

"The possible demise of Facebook may seem very unlikely, but the implications must be taken seriously given that the platform hosts more than 2.6 billion users and their associated data," said study author Carl Ohman, a doctoral candidate at the Oxford Internet Institute.

"Companies fail and close regularly, but existing regulatory frameworks simply do not answer the question of what happens if a company like Facebook withdraws.

"We have taken the first steps to map the legal and ethical landscape at stake in order to better manage the consequences.

"Hopefully this is just the beginning of a vitally important debate among academics, policymakers, and the tech industry."

Check out latest paper from [@CJ\_Ohman](https://twitter.com/CJ_Ohman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [@nikitaggarwal](https://twitter.com/nikitaggarwal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [@oiioxford](https://twitter.com/oiioxford?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [@oxfordethicslab](https://twitter.com/oxfordethicslab?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) on ethical and legal implications for demise of big tech [#Facebook](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Facebook?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [https://t.co/ENbooMdk55](https://t.co/ENbooMdk55)

— Oxford Internet Institute (@oiioxford) [August 11, 2020](https://twitter.com/oiioxford/status/1293112214816264192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Research

The research says that a regulatory framework must be developed, on the same scale as those for major financial institutions, critical national infrastructure, and public services, so that the service can be safely maintained or transferred to another platform.

Legal mechanisms should be established to give users greater control over their own data in the event of a shutdown, to ensure their information cannot be sold to a third party, the study recommends.

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It also believes there should be stronger legal protection for the data and privacy of deceased users, handing power over their information to their next of kin.

Meanwhile, scientists propose the creation of stronger incentives for Facebook to share knowledge and preserve historically significant data for future generations.

"The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the systemic importance of platforms like Facebook for information sharing in today's society, providing vital access to public health advice and keeping communities connected through digital communication tools"

said Nikita Aggarwal, co-author of the paper

"As such, there are strong reasons to regulate these platforms as systemically important technology institutions in order to minimize disruption to the essential services they provide"

Source: newschain