The Cambridge Analytica scandal is a drop of water trickling down the visible top of an iceberg

"Cambridge Analytica is on the cover of every newspaper. The company managed to get hold of millions of data points of very sensitive data from Facebook users. Most reporters focus on the meaning of consent in the digital age and Facebook's inability to enforce it. Most reporters covering the Cambridge Analytica story are missing out on the big picture. The scale of the operation was only possible because Facebook has too much data about too many people. Cambridge Analytica is a cautionary tale about the risks of centralizing data and control over the flows of information. The internet and the web were designed to decentralize data and power. Cambridge Analytica's use of Facebook is an example of what a system with a single point of failure leads to. 

"This piece strives to show the bigger picture: How big players – exerting power over internet access, device, platform, and data markets – have become a liability. Cambridge Analytica is but a drop of water trickling down the visible top of an iceberg. The plot will thicken. We need to talk... now."

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