Report finds confidence in social media platforms at a crisis point

With controversy swirling around social media companies, an internet safety group says your trust in them has sunk to an all-time low. Getting back in good standing for these companies that are so important to our society could come at a dial-up pace.

Tom Galvin’s company Digital Citizens Alliance conducted a report that finds 71 percent of respondents lost trust in Facebook. They say 51 percent find it to be an irresponsible company.

“These things are a fabric of our society and we need them to be trusted,” said Galvin.

In 2016, political firm Cambridge Analytica, working on behalf of President Trump’s campaign, gathered the personal information of 87 million Facebook users.

“It was bound to happen. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner,” said Galvin.

The firm identified voter personalities in hopes of swaying voters. Galvin says one of the ways Facebook makes money is by selling user data.

“South Dakotans should not fear that tool. What they should expect from the people who deliver services on that tool is responsibility,” said Galvin.

Zuckerberg admitted to mistakes and apologized in a Senate Hearing Tuesday, as Senators like John Thune (R-SD) mulled over how the company should be handling data.

“There’s got to be some constraint around how it’s used and there has to be a bigger emphasis on privacy,” said Thune.

Thune says he thinks Facebook can crack the code to win back trust, but it will come at a cost

“They’re going to be held to a different standard than they have been before,” said Thune.

Thune isn’t ready to say what that standard will, or if new regulations are necessary. He wants to hear from more social media companies first.