The cock has indeed come home to roost.
For me, it is time social media giants stopped telling us what data is being requested by an app (i.e. friends, statuses, etc) and started telling us what the app wants to do with the data (targeted advertising, political persuasion, etc). This is because users are not aware of the possibilities when they voluntarily give out their data.
See this form when applying for a Twitter Dev account clearly requesting use-cases for data to be collected:
Since they have the use-case information, why not leave it to the user to decide which use cases they’re comfortable with and opt out of those they’re not? Then find a way way to manage use-case changes and inform the users thereto.
I, for instance, may be comfortable with my data being used for targeted advertising of a local coffee shop but not for academic research.
As for Cambridge Analytica, without condoning their behavior - especially lying about the use-cases of the data -, I pose the question: Where do we draw the line between political persuasion and manipulation of voters? Politicians are allowed to persuade voters to their side but when does it become wrong - especially on digital platforms?
Regards,
EC