Yup, It's Always Something: Need Another Reminder??
Every day more invasion of personal data piracy and privacy
Facebook's new data-for-cash debacle
Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios
TechCrunch reported late Tuesday that Facebook had paid users, some of them teenagers, $20 a month to install software on their iPhones giving Facebook detailed access to everything taking place on the device.
Why it matters:We're all losing count of Facebook's privacy controversies, but this one is even more sensitive because it involves teens.
The social network faces further backlash from users and regulators, and it's also in hot water with Apple.
Facebook described the program as research to analyze how people use its own services and those of competitors. Late Tuesday night, Facebook defended the program, which dates back to 2016, but said it was discontinuing it for iOS users.
"Despite early reports, there was nothing 'secret' about this; it was literally called the Facebook Research App. It wasn't 'spying' as all of the people who signed up to participate went through a clear on-boarding process asking for their permission and were paid to participate. Finally, less than 5 percent of the people who chose to participate in this market research program were teens. All of them with signed parental consent forms."
