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According to a new report, Facebook is researching ways to analyze encrypted data, such as WhatsApp messages, without decrypting the information.
The new report from The Information quotedthat Facebook has confirmed that it is building a team of artificial intelligence researchers to "investigate ways to analyze encrypted data without decrypting it." While it is still in the early stages of development, the research could enable Facebook to tap into users' encrypted WhatsApp messages and then use that information for targeted advertising.
Facebook wants to preserve privacy while expanding advertising systems
This specific area of research is called "homomorphic encryption," which aims to enable companies to read information from encrypted data sets while preserving privacy to protect against cybersecurity threats. Facebook has advertised several related positions on its website, stating that it aims to work on privacy-preserving technologies while "expanding the efficiency of Facebook's market-leading advertising systems."
The company continues to recruit researchers with a background in privacy-sensitive technologies, including homomorphic encryption, secure computation and data anonymization, according to job postings on the website. The technologies aim to protect privacy while expanding the efficiency of Facebook's market-leading advertising systems.
Data protection practices under criticism: Is Facebook's answer homomorphic encryption?
Facebook has notoriously come under scrutiny from lawmakers and the public for its privacy practices. The Information believes that homomorphic encryption could be Facebook's answer to growing concerns about user privacy and its relationship to the platform's business model of serving ads.
For Facebook, homomorphic encryption could provide a way to continue making money from ads targeted based on what it knows about individual users while answering calls from lawmakers to take privacy more seriously and prevent the misuse or breach of its data. It could also help the social media giant make money from WhatsApp, whose messages are encrypted, meaning Facebook cannot use them for targeted advertising. Facebook has, in the meantime, considered a workaround to target ads to WhatsApp users. But homomorphic encryption could allow Facebook to analyze the data without actually reading it or sharing it directly with advertisers.
A Facebook spokesperson told The Information that it's "too early for us to consider homomorphic encryption for WhatsApp at this time." Further development will certainly remain exciting. (Photo by Ink Drop / Bigstockphoto)
