The Most Disturbing Thing About Facebook's Controversial Data Research Program

Facebook is ending a controversial research program in which it paid users up to $20 a month to install a smartphone app that gave the company nearly unfettered access to their activity. The move comes after the program was highlighted in a report by TechCrunch, and after Apple said the app violated its policies and revoked its certificate. A Facebook spokesperson says the program was not "secret," as some early reports suggested, and that it was opt-in. "It wasn't'spying' as all of the people who signed up to participate went through a clear on-boarding process asking for their permission and were paid to participate," said the spokesperson. But the program had major privacy implications even still, and seemed likely to prey on the vulnerabilities of Facebook's most financially desperate users.