Facebook says 18 percent of research participants were teens, not 5

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You know it’s a good day at Facebook when the words “teenagers,” “research,” and “lying” are in the news.

In January, an investigation from TechCrunch found that Facebook was paying people, including teenagers, $20 to monitor their internet and phone use.

At the time, Facebook said that less than 5 percent of its study participants were teens, and that participants under 18 were required to get parental consent. But now, Facebook has revealed that teens comprised 18 percent of its users — not five.

After TechCrunch’s investigation, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) asked Facebook for more information about the program; Warner was reportedly frustrated with Facebook’s lack of transparency regarding its research programs.

TechCrunch has obtained Facebook’s response to Sen. Warner’s questions. And the company’s answers regarding teenage users tell a different story than Facebook’s initial response to the media.

Not only did teenage users comprise 18 percent of participants, but teens were not required to get written letters of parental consent, as Facebook previously asserted, either.

That five percent number apparently came from the amount of teenage users active in the program at the time that revelations about the initiative came to light. But over the research app’s lifetime, 18 percent of the users were teens. Facebook listed these discrepancies in the letter’s introduction to Warner. From the document posted by TechCrunch:

At the time we ended the Facebook Research App on Apple’s iOS platform, less than 5 percent of the people sharing data with us through this program were teens. Analysis shows that number is about 18 percent when you look at the complete lifetime of the program, and also add people who had become inactive and uninstalled the app.

Each user was required to complete a clear consent flow prior to participation. Potential participants were required to confirm that they were over 18 or provide other evidence of parental consent, though the vendors did not require a signed parental consent form for teen users. 

The report was initially troubling for a few reasons beyond the creep factor of Facebook monitoring teenagers’ activities. Facebook circumvented many of Apple’s iOS privacy policies to gain unfettered access to participants’ phone usage, which resulted in the app getting booted from iOS. Further, Facebook recruited in teen-populated places like Snapchat, which implied that it was specifically looking in places known for teen users. And, Facebook often initially obscured its identity as the proprietor of the study by working through intermediaries.

Facebook says that it is working hard to regain trust from its users, after multiple scandals and breaches have damaged that trust. But discrepancies like these undermine faith that the tech giant is truly trying to make good. And frankly, none of us are shocked.