CNET pans Facebook Portal TV and enterprises need to take notice
Why CNET’s review of Facebook Portal TV is a wake-up call to enterprises when it comes to data security.
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Thursday, November 7th, 2019 
Facebook (or as it’s now called, FACEBOOK) launched a new initiative this week – Facebook Portal TV. It’s the latest in the company’s efforts to expand its brand beyond its flagship social networking site.
But it’s a bit more complicated than that.
In a recent review, CNET editor Megan Wollerton flat out told readers they shouldn’t buy this new TV device.
Her reason? Facebook as a company doesn’t take data privacy seriously.
She’s absolutely right. From Cambridge Analytica to unsecured data breaches, Facebook has consistently shown consumers its disregard for protecting their data and keeping it private. While it’s easy to target Facebook as the poster child of poor data privacy practices, the truth is they aren’t alone.
A data privacy wake-up call
Data breaches are an almost daily occurrence and many aren’t the work of masked hackers a world away but are the result of emails inadvertently sent to the wrong recipient, or a spreadsheet stored in a way that’s accessible to the public.
While data privacy legislation is forcing some improvement, there’s still a world of difference between being compliant with legislation and having a robust data privacy policy. Compliance means an organization has implemented basic data privacy practices – nothing more.
A robust data privacy policy is an organizational commitment to ensuring personal or sensitive data is secure no matter where it is in the organization.
As I’ve written before, I believe there’s a growing consumer awareness as to how enterprises should treat their personal data. I think the CNET reaction to Facebook Portal TV should serve as a wake-up call for enterprises that might be a bit more complacent about data privacy.
In short – enterprises that fail to prioritize data privacy are going to start to pay the price and I’m not talking about penalties related to privacy regulations.
As consumers grow more aware of how enterprises protect (or, more importantly, fail to protect) their data, they’ll make buying choices appropriately. And a long-term loss of business is something any enterprise can ill afford.
