Facebook Caught Paying Teens $20 A Month For Their Private Information

An investigation from TechCrunch reveals a program of Facebook called Project Atlas. Apparently, users whose age ranges from 13 to 34, receive $20 gift cards from Facebook if they agree to download an app sending all their online activity to the social giant. This is another alarming sign showing big tech’s attempt in delving into users’ private information.

To get these $20 gift cards, iOS, as well as Android users, are required to set up a virtual private network called Facebook Research. Via a third party, this network transmits outgoing data, which could provide Facebook with almost unlimited access to a device, as Will Strafach, a security expert working at Guardian Mobile Firewall, said.

He continued:

Documents in possession of TechCrunch further reveal that this Project Atlas even requested users to take a screenshot of their order history pages on Amazon.

After TechCrunch’s report emerged, the iOS version of this app was shut down. An Apple spokesperson said that the app is a violation of the agreement between Apple and Facebook. Furthermore, Facebook’s right for internal iOS apps distribution. An anonymous source said that this is a hard blow for the social giant.

In a statement, the company said it will not terminate Facebook Research. A spokesperson said that:

The drama arrives after a year of hardship for the social media platform with its failures to protect its users’ privacy and the happening of several privacy breaches.