A secret program called "Project Ghostbusters" saw Facebook devise a way to intercept and decrypt the encrypted network traffic of Snapchat users to study their behavior.
Even if they paid them there are a lot of things being done here that could be illegal, hence why they immediately shut down the VPN after someone found out what they are doing.
Not to mention how highly unethical this all is. If you read the articles, there were multiple people FROM Facebook that questioned the approach.
There are obviously ways that this kind of research could be done ethically or legally, and your right that people should be empowered over their data. That does not mean a large company abusing it’s knowledge and power should be legal.
Even if they paid them there are a lot of things being done here that could be illegal, hence why they immediately shut down the VPN after someone found out what they are doing.
Not to mention how highly unethical this all is. If you read the articles, there were multiple people FROM Facebook that questioned the approach.
There are obviously ways that this kind of research could be done ethically or legally, and your right that people should be empowered over their data. That does not mean a large company abusing it’s knowledge and power should be legal.