Sheryl Sandberg not sorry for Facebook mood manipulation study - The Washington Post: On Wednesday, Facebook’s second-in-command, Sheryl Sandberg, expressed regret over how the company communicated its�2012 mood manipulation study of 700,000 unwitting users, but she did not apologize for conducting the controversial experiment. It’s just what companies do, she said.
“This was part of ongoing research companies do to test different products, and that was what it was; it was poorly communicated,” Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, told the Wall Street Journal while travelling in New Delhi. “And for that communication we apologize. We never meant to upset you.”
Sandberg’s statement was the first public comment by a Facebook executive on the controversy since it erupted over the weekend, prompting anger from many Facebook users and criticism from some academics who said it was unethical to manipulate users’ emotions without informed consent.
“This was part of ongoing research companies do to test different products, and that was what it was; it was poorly communicated,” Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, told the Wall Street Journal while travelling in New Delhi. “And for that communication we apologize. We never meant to upset you.”
Sandberg’s statement was the first public comment by a Facebook executive on the controversy since it erupted over the weekend, prompting anger from many Facebook users and criticism from some academics who said it was unethical to manipulate users’ emotions without informed consent.