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The ethical problem with Facebook's emotional experiment

Facebook teamed up with academia to manipulate users' emotions in a week-long science experiment, but users had no idea they were test subjects. CNET's Bridget Carey explains Facebook's latest controversy.

Bridget Carey Principal Video Producer
Bridget Carey is an award-winning reporter who helps you level-up your life -- while having a good time geeking out. Her exclusive CNET videos get you behind the scenes as she covers new trends, experiences and quirky gadgets. Her weekly video show, "One More Thing," explores what's new in the world of Apple and what's to come. She started as a reporter at The Miami Herald with syndicated newspaper columns for product reviews and social media advice. Now she's a mom who also stays on top of toy industry trends and robots. (Kids love robots.)
Expertise Consumer technology, Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, social media, mobile, robots, future tech, immersive technology, toys, culture Credentials
  • Bridget has spent over 18 years as a consumer tech reporter, hosting daily tech news shows and writing syndicated newspaper columns. She's often a guest on national radio and television stations, including ABC, CBS, CNBC and NBC.
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Bridget Carey

Watch this: The ethical problem with Facebook's emotional experiment

The world has yet another reason to distrust Facebook. This episode of CNET Update explains the emotional experiment Facebook conducted two years ago. Users are riled up now thanks to a recently published study of the findings. Facebook is being criticized over a lack of transparency in the experiment. Facebook didn't alert any of the participants, but says users were fair game for tests because the data use policy states information can be used in "research." By agreeing to a data use policy, do Facebook's users agree to be lab rats without consent?

Google's social network also makes today's tech-news roundup. No, not Google+, or that Buzz thing. It's Google's first social network, Orkut. After 10 years, Orkut is kaput. The network that was popular in Brazil and India will shut down on September 30.

CNET Update delivers the tech news you need in under three minutes. Watch Bridget Carey every afternoon for a breakdown of the big stories, hot devices, new apps, and what's ahead. Subscribe to the podcast via the links below.

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