Facebook "Likes" personality prediction study criticised as unethical, opaque

A research study revealed that Facebook Likes can accurately predict personal attributes and personality traits, leading to worries that individuals' intimate personal information was used without explicit consent or understanding. 

University of Cambridge and Stanford University researchers drew on data showing the Facebook likes of 58,000 volunteers in the US to design a set of algorithms to show how an accurate portrait of someone's personality, including their religious views, political beliefs, race, and sexual orientation could be made from the things they have 'liked' on Facebook.

The algorithms proved 88 percent accurate in determining male sexuality, 95 percent accurate in distinguishing African-American from Caucasian-American, and 85 percent in differentiating Republican from Democrat.

Digital rights and privacy campaigners expressed their concerns about the study's conduct, notably that individuals' intimate personal information was exposed without explicit consent or understanding. They recommended people consider carefully what they choose to share online. 

Michael Kosinski, lead researcher on the project, concurred. "I can imagine situations in which the same data and technology is used to predict political views or sexual orientation, posing threats to freedom or even life," he said. 

The study and its associated data were linked, sometimes controversially, to political profiling and targeting efforts, notably by Cambridge Analytica, which used similar psychological profiling models in election campaigns.