“Pardner, we never Meta an outfit with which we could not litigate” : Facebook and its headwinds [PART 1]

The Apple move to eunuchize the Zuck was a sharp swipe at the Zuckbook

16 February 2022 (Athens, Greece) – I read the Wrap’s “Why Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg Are Boxed In: Analysis” (reading it requires a subscription so I put it up on my Slideshare). My take-aways on reading the write up is that Facebook has been boxed out by three interesting factors:

1. It is a product designed for college students circa 2004. These “objects of attention” in the early incarnations of the social network are now nosing into their 40s. The parents of these millennials or whatever the cohort is called have discovered Facebook. The silver citizens are definitely checking out grandkiddies via the Book.

2. The Facebook brand has morphed into Zuckbook or Meta or some crisis PR firm’s vision of smooth sailing into a safe harbor. Not many firms have the distinction of being viewed as a digital embodiment of the chemically infused Love Canal.

3. And, yeah, TikTok. Algorithms, short videos, and the benign Hoovering of data about users. And a China connection too. As sensitive as the Zuck’s radar has been, he appears to have zucked up. The write up takes a complementary view, For example:

Additionally, even if Zuckerberg succeeds in building a business ecosystem around the  metaverse, the company will have to figure out an advertising model without relying on targeted ads. There are also consumer safety and security concerns that have not been addressed, and while it rebranded to Meta last October, Facebook is still strongly associated with its image.

Oh, yeah, and Apple’s move to eunuchize the Zuck was a sharp swipe at the Zuckbook. Ouch.

But it gets worse. Can Texas get billions out of Meta (aka Zuckbook) for alleged misuse of facial recognition? Texas winning some type of Zuckbook cash output is the goal. In the piece “Texas Sues Meta, Saying It Misused Facial Recognition Data” we get:

“The suit involves Facebook’s ‘tag suggestions’ feature, which the company ended last year, that used facial recognition to encourage users to link the photo to a friend’s profile. Paxton [Texas Attorney General] alleged the company collected facial recognition data without their consent, shared it with third parties, and did not destroy the information in a timely manner — all in violation of state law”.

What’s interesting is that there are scores of other State AGs who are monitoring this legal matter. If the Zuckbook avoids a Super Bowl fine, that’s okay. There are probably other technical fish to fry at the social media PEZ fest.

But … if the Texas AG prevails, how many other states will ask a couple of bright eyed and bushy tailed lawyers to see if similar actions took place in their state? I can name a couple. Ok, maybe 49? Can Meta, or is the Zuckbook team too busy trying to figure out how to deal with what one might call other headwinds? Worth watching Mr. Paxton’s interest in Meta, me thinks.

IN PART 2

Apple and Google are dealing a death blow to the digital marketing practices of the last decade, limiting cross-app tracking and completely changing the rules for regulation crackdown, consumer privacy, the financial imperatives of advertisers, and the role of developers. And creating a massive headwind for The Zuck.

But it is complicated. Third-party cookies on web browsers will be replaced (in some fashion; nothing is yet in stone) and enterprises must adapt and execute.

For Part 2 click here.