Today in front of the combined Senate committees Mark Zuckerberg made a key distinction. It is assumed that Facebook accumulates data on its users that it then sells to advertisers. But this is not the case at all. Facebook accumulates data on its users that the users allow Facebook to collect. On the other hand advertisers come to Facebook and describe in detail the kind of people they want to reach with their advertisements.
Facebook then compares the advertisers' request to the data that Facebook has collected. Facebook then selects the individuals who will see the advertisers who are appropriate and it connects the Facebook users with the advertiser. Actually an algorithm does it. It does not inform the advertiser about any of the actual data used to match it with the Facebook user under any circumstances.
Advertiser A wants to advertise snow shoes to individuals who need snow shoes, perhaps, and those who can afford snow shoes. Facebook scours its users for information about the amount of snow they endure. It looks for anything that might be said about snow and snow shoes by its members. Facebook decides which of those who had issues with snow --- probably everybody who has issues with snow --- and Facebook then allows the snow shoe advertiser to access each and every person who has issues with snow who is on Facebook and who -- and this important, who has not specifically said they don't want advertisements for snow shoes or any other shoes.
You talk about cars and they connect the car ads to you. You talk about sports cars and the connect the sports car companies (who have paid to be connected) with you. You talk about Chevys and you get some Chevy ads. And for your convenience you get the Chevy ads from Chevy companies that are close to your location, which the local Chevy companies pay for. But the ads are always a pass through from Facebook to you based on your data and not from the Chevy dealer. He may be wasting his money advertising to you. But he will never know it.
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