25 votes

Facebook knowingly duped game-playing kids and their parents out of money to increase revenue

11 comments

  1. [5]
    DrewDru
    Link
    Serious questions need to be asked about Facebook's corporate culture. So many of it's employees seem to be very morally bankrupt.

    Serious questions need to be asked about Facebook's corporate culture. So many of it's employees seem to be very morally bankrupt.

    9 votes
    1. [4]
      Amarok
      Link Parent
      Why stop with Facebook? At some point we need to examine why moral bankruptcy is the natural end state of any profitable venture. :)

      Why stop with Facebook? At some point we need to examine why moral bankruptcy is the natural end state of any profitable venture. :)

      8 votes
      1. [2]
        DrewDru
        Link Parent
        I imagine it's because dispensing with ethics makes it much easier to maximize profits. How people change so quickly and so much and do away with their ethics on a personal basis is quite...

        I imagine it's because dispensing with ethics makes it much easier to maximize profits. How people change so quickly and so much and do away with their ethics on a personal basis is quite confounding...

        3 votes
        1. Whom
          Link Parent
          ...and then the question quickly turns from "how do people become this unethical?" to "why does our system for resource allocation reward being unethical and anti-social rather than punishing it?"

          ...and then the question quickly turns from "how do people become this unethical?" to "why does our system for resource allocation reward being unethical and anti-social rather than punishing it?"

          3 votes
      2. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. Whom
          Link Parent
          Ignoring that I'd assume the pressure is higher than you're making it out to be, Facebook only makes money through the asshole things. There isn't a core business that they're stacking the...

          Ignoring that I'd assume the pressure is higher than you're making it out to be, Facebook only makes money through the asshole things. There isn't a core business that they're stacking the bullshit on top of, without the bullshit they are just hosting a free website that has no way to make anything.

          2 votes
  2. Octofox
    Link
    Many years ago I knew a kid who accidentally spent $100 on his parents credit card on in game coins on an iOS app. I also find it interesting that almost all of the players of these games spend...

    Many years ago I knew a kid who accidentally spent $100 on his parents credit card on in game coins on an iOS app. I also find it interesting that almost all of the players of these games spend nothing on it but a very tiny percent do spend and they spend mountains of cash on these things. The report I read said one mobile game company had a support person dedicated to a single customer.

    7 votes
  3. [4]
    annadane
    Link
    Sigh. Please learn from your negative public image. But I guess you don't care or are so self absorbed that you can't

    Sigh. Please learn from your negative public image. But I guess you don't care or are so self absorbed that you can't

    2 votes
    1. [3]
      patience_limited
      Link Parent
      Remember, capitalism. As long as the behavior remains profitable and isn't punished by the marketplace or regulation, it will continue.

      Remember, capitalism. As long as the behavior remains profitable and isn't punished by the marketplace or regulation, it will continue.

      11 votes
      1. [2]
        annadane
        Link Parent
        I just legitimately don't understand how much of them are psychopaths (in the medical sense of the word), how much their duty to shareholders requires them to do this, or whether Silicon Valley as...

        I just legitimately don't understand how much of them are psychopaths (in the medical sense of the word), how much their duty to shareholders requires them to do this, or whether Silicon Valley as a whole is just this cynical. They literally spend the rest of the time informing us that they care about us, where's the disconnect? (Don't say "money", I know that that's why. It still surprises me.)

        4 votes
        1. patience_limited
          Link Parent
          I'm not going to say that any of the owners are fundamentally lacking in moral agency. Yet it's easy for them to behave like sociopaths by carefully avoiding consideration of, or responsibility...

          I'm not going to say that any of the owners are fundamentally lacking in moral agency. Yet it's easy for them to behave like sociopaths by carefully avoiding consideration of, or responsibility for, the negative outcomes of their apparently rational behavior. "We're too busy connecting everyone to notice any consequences, and we'll fix them when we get around to it!", they'll demur.

          There's a whole collection of cognitive blind spots and logical fallacies Facebook's executives can marshall in self-defense - "We're incredibly smart, so what we're doing must be the right thing", "Censorship is bad, so we can't restrict any form of speech", and so on.

          4 votes