Facebook suspends data analytical firm Crimson Hexagon; firm has collected over one trillion posts

Unlike Cambridge Analytica, which dealt in the profiles of Facebook users without obtaining their permission (click on the video at the top of this article), Crimson Hexagon collects publicly posted social media messages and analyzes them for its clients, seeking to get an idea of what the public thinks about certain matters. The company says it has a collection of more than one trillion posts from apps like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Facebook allows outside firms to use "anonymized insights for business purposes," but not for surveillance.

Most Americans are unaware that their public posts are analyzed to help determine where advertising or political messages will go over the best/worst. And unlike the collection and use of users' profiles without permission, the collection of public posts (up to a certain number) does not appear to violate the regulations of social networking platforms. In fact, Crimson Hexagon pays Twitter for access to a large amount of tweets; considering that Facebook has restrictions on the amount of data that can be collected by third parties, Crimson Hexagon collects more data from Twitter than from Facebook.

The company's website lists these benefits of being a Crimson Hexagon client:

• Better understand target audiences-explore audience segments, find new audience interests, and identify opportunities with data at the post and aggregate levels.
• Track purchase intent-understand when, where, and how consumers speak about purchasing your product or category, and track changes over time.
• Evaluate campaign impact-assess whether your latest creative generate social buzz, and review which interest segments the campaign resonated with most.
• Analyze product launch response-determine what motivated consumers to buy, and find ideas for how can you be more impactful in the future.
• Benchmark against competitors-look at sentiment, share of voice, compare audience segments and more – all with a few key strokes.

Facebook plans to meet with Crimson Hexagon officials over the next few days. For now, the company's Facebook and Instagram accounts are frozen.