{"id":108489,"date":"2018-04-02T12:01:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T11:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=108489"},"modified":"2018-04-01T16:29:49","modified_gmt":"2018-04-01T15:29:49","slug":"growth-at-any-cost-top-facebook-executive-defended-data-collection-in-2016-memo-and-warned-that-facebook-could-get-people-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/04\/growth-at-any-cost-top-facebook-executive-defended-data-collection-in-2016-memo-and-warned-that-facebook-could-get-people-killed\/","title":{"rendered":"Growth at Any Cost: Top Facebook Executive Defended Data Collection in 2016 Memo\u2014And Warned That Facebook Could Get People Killed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facebook Vice President Andrew \u201cBoz\u201d Bosworth said that \u201cquestionable contact importing practices,\u201d \u201csubtle language that helps people stay searchable,\u201d and other growth techniques are justified by the company\u2019s connecting of people. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

29 Mar 2018 – <\/em>On June 18, 2016, one of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s most trusted lieutenants circulated an extraordinary memo weighing the costs of the company\u2019s relentless quest for growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe connect people. Period. That\u2019s why all the work we do in growth is justified. All the questionable contact importing practices. All the subtle language that helps people stay searchable by friends. All of the work we do to bring more communication in. The work we will likely have to do in China some day. All of it,\u201d VP Andrew \u201cBoz\u201d Bosworth wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we connect more people,\u201d he wrote in another section of the memo. \u201cThat can be bad if they make it negative. Maybe it costs someone a life by exposing someone to bullies.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

The explosive internal memo is titled \u201cThe Ugly,\u201d and has not been previously circulated outside the Silicon Valley social media giant.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Andrew Bosworth talks about the new Facebook messaging service at an announcement in San Francisco, Nov. 15, 2010. Paul Sakuma \/ AP<\/p><\/div>\n

The Bosworth memo reveals the extent to which Facebook\u2019s leadership understood the physical and social risks the platform\u2019s products carried \u2014 even as the company downplayed those risks in public. It suggests that senior executives had deep qualms about conduct that they are now seeking to defend. And as the company reels amid a scandal over improper outside data collection on its users, the memo shows that one senior executive \u2014 one of Zuckerberg\u2019s longest-serving deputies \u2014 prioritized all-encompassing growth over all else, a view that has led to questionable data collection and manipulative treatment of its users. You can read the full post below. Facebook was unable to provide comment at the time of publication.<\/p>\n

Bosworth is one of a small inner circle at Facebook. He joined the company in January 2006 from Microsoft and over the years has been deeply involved in everything from News Feed and Groups to Facebook’s anti-abuse systems and its virtual- and augmented-reality efforts.<\/p>\n

Bosworth, one of the company\u2019s most outspoken employees, has also recently emerged as an outspoken defender<\/a> of Facebook through his Twitter account<\/a>. He responded to this story there, tweeting:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/boztank\/status\/979478961582325760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fryanmac%2Fgrowth-at-any-cost-top-facebook-executive-defended-data&tfw_creator=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fkantrowitz&tfw_site=fwd<\/p>\n

Bosworth is known inside the company for his bluntness, two former employees said.<\/p>\n

“The memo is classic Boz because it speaks to the majority of Facebook employee views but it’s also polarizing.” <\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHe is definitely a guy who isn’t very diplomatic \u2014 he’d blunder into internal debates and internal comms would tend to keep an eye on what he’s doing and posting,\u201d one former senior employee told BuzzFeed News. \u201cThe memo is classic Boz because it speaks to the majority of Facebook employee views but it’s also polarizing. Tonally he doesn’t mince words. This is clearly a post meant to rally the troops.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bosworth memo, which stresses the extent to which Facebook was built on \u201cgrowth tactics,\u201d reads as a statement of corporate principles, including phrases like \u201cwhat we do\u201d and \u201cwhat we believe\u201d and speaking of \u201cour work\u201d and \u201cour imperative.\u201d In the memo, he argued that Facebook believes its mission of connecting people is so important that anything it does in support of it is “*de facto* good” \u2014 even if it allows some to do true, even catastrophic, harm to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ugly truth is that we believe in connecting people so deeply that anything that allows us to connect more people more often is *de facto* good. It is perhaps the only area where the metrics do tell the true story as far as we are concerned,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThat isn\u2019t something we are doing for ourselves. Or for our stock price (ha!). It is literally just what we do. We connect people. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no record of Zuckerberg’s response to the memo. However, a year later in August 2017, Bosworth was tapped to run the company’s consumer hardware efforts. A former employee, who was unhappy about the lack of accountability at Facebook in light of the company\u2019s role in recent global crises, surfaced the post earlier this month. It still remains live for current workers to read.<\/p>\n

In a statement given to BuzzFeed News after publication of this story, Zuckerberg wrote:<\/p>\n

Boz is a talented leader who says many provocative things. This was one that most people at Facebook including myself disagreed with strongly. We’ve never believed the ends justify the means.<\/em><\/p>\n

We recognize that connecting people isn’t enough by itself. We also need to work to bring people closer together. We changed our whole mission and company focus to reflect this last year.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bosworth published the post to Facebook for employees\u2019 eyes only a day after the shooting death of a Chicago man<\/a> was captured on Facebook Live,<\/a> the company\u2019s livestreaming product. Earlier that year, Facebook had been dealt a significant blow when Indian regulators rejected the company\u2019s free internet program; that spring, the company also faced significant backlash<\/a> following reports<\/a> that human curators sometimes demoted conservative news sources in the company\u2019s trending news section.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe natural state of the world is not connected,\u201d Bosworth wrote. \u201cIt is not unified. It is fragmented by borders, languages, and increasingly by different products. The best products don\u2019t win. The ones everyone use win.\u201d<\/p>\n

With more than 2 billion users, Facebook\u2019s relentless quest for growth has led the company to grow its market capitalization to more than $450 billion. As it was in 2016, the social network is still shut out of China, possibly explaining Bosworth\u2019s statement about \u201cthe work we will likely have to do\u201d someday in the world\u2019s most populous nation.<\/p>\n

One former employee who spoke with BuzzFeed News noted that they remembered the post and the blowback it received from some workers at the time. \u201cIt was one of [Bosworth\u2019s] least popular and most controversial posts,\u201d the ex-employee said. \u201cThere are people that are probably still not in his fan club because of his view.\u201d<\/p>\n

“The best products don\u2019t win. The ones everyone use win.” <\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bosworth is a polarizing figure inside the company, according to the former employee, who said the post was viewed as \u201cBoz being Boz.\u201d<\/p>\n

A former senior executive, however, pushed back on that, acknowledging the debate within some circles, but describing the memo as \u201csuper popular internally.”<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now there’s a tremendous amount of soul-searching, internally,\u201d they said. \u201cViews like Boz’s are being raised retroactively and debated now with more vigor. There was some debate then when he posted it but there were people who’d mostly just stay out of it. But now they feel different. I assume there’s going to be intense debate over this and so many other strategic vision statements in the coming weeks as part of their reckoning.\u201d<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long after the memo\u2019s publication for the worst of Bosworth\u2019s statements to be realized. On June 30, 2016, an Israeli teen was stabbed to death<\/a> by a terrorist<\/a> who had boasted on Facebook of his plans to die as a martyr. In July, the company was sued<\/a> by the parents of five people who had allegedly been killed by Hamas since June 2014.<\/p>\n

For Bosworth, that may have just been part of \u201cthe ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn almost all of our work, we have to answer hard questions about what we believe,\u201d he wrote in his memo. \u201cWe have to justify the metrics and make sure they aren\u2019t losing out on a bigger picture. But connecting people. That\u2019s our imperative. Because that\u2019s what we do. We connect people.\u201d<\/p>\n

***************************<\/p>\n

The memo:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andrew Bosworth
\nJune 18, 2016<\/p>\n

The Ugly<\/p>\n

We talk about the good and the bad of our work often. I want to talk about the ugly.<\/p>\n

We connect people.<\/p>\n

That can be good if they make it positive. Maybe someone finds love. Maybe it even saves the life of someone on the brink of suicide.<\/p>\n

So we connect more people<\/p>\n

That can be bad if they make it negative. Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies. Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools.<\/p>\n

And still we connect people.<\/p>\n

The ugly truth is that we believe in connecting people so deeply that anything that allows us to connect more people more often is *de facto* good. It is perhaps the only area where the metrics do tell the true story as far as we are concerned.<\/p>\n

That isn\u2019t something we are doing for ourselves. Or for our stock price (ha!). It is literally just what we do. We connect people. Period.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why all the work we do in growth is justified. All the questionable contact importing practices. All the subtle language that helps people stay searchable by friends. All of the work we do to bring more communication in. The work we will likely have to do in China some day. All of it.<\/p>\n

The natural state of the world is not connected. It is not unified. It is fragmented by borders, languages, and increasingly by different products. The best products don\u2019t win. The ones everyone use win.<\/p>\n

I know a lot of people don\u2019t want to hear this. Most of us have the luxury of working in the warm glow of building products consumers love. But make no mistake, growth tactics are how we got here. If you joined the company because it is doing great work, that\u2019s why we get to do that great work. We do have great products but we still wouldn\u2019t be half our size without pushing the envelope on growth. Nothing makes Facebook as valuable as having your friends on it, and no product decisions have gotten as many friends on as the ones made in growth. Not photo tagging. Not news feed. Not messenger. Nothing.<\/p>\n

In almost all of our work, we have to answer hard questions about what we believe. We have to justify the metrics and make sure they aren\u2019t losing out on a bigger picture. But connecting people. That\u2019s our imperative. Because that\u2019s what we do. We connect people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

___________________________________________<\/p>\n

UPDATE – <\/strong><\/em>March 29, 2018:<\/em><\/p>\n

This story has been updated with comment from Mark Zuckerberg and Andrew \u201cBoz\u201d Bosworth. Zuckerberg Says He Disagrees With Growth At All Costs Facebook Memo From Top Exec<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Ryan Mac is a senior technology reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in San Francisco. He reports on the intersection of money, technology and power. Contact Ryan Mac at ryan.mac@buzzfeed.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Charlie Warzel is a senior writer for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York. Warzel reports on and writes about the intersection of tech and culture. Contact Charlie Warzel at charlie.warzel@buzzfeed.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Alex Kantrowitz is a senior technology reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in San Francisco. He reports on social and communications. Contact Alex Kantrowitz at alex.kantrowitz@buzzfeed.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Go to Original \u2013 buzzfeed.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

29 Mar 2018 – Facebook Vice President Andrew \u201cBoz\u201d Bosworth said that \u201cquestionable contact importing practices,\u201d \u201csubtle language that helps people stay searchable,\u201d and other growth techniques are justified by the company\u2019s connecting of people. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":51677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}