Facebook User Outrage Leads To Delay Of Connected Speaker Launch

Facebook is in the midst the most ferocious user backlash it has ever faced after its data privacy policies (or lack there of) have come to light. Much of the user outrage focuses on Cambridge Analytica's capturing and use of data on a huge number of Facebook users. Facebook is also facing ire over allegedly harvesting Android call and SMS data for years, something Facebook denies. Because of all this negative reaction from users, people familiar with the matter claim that the social media giant has decided to skip the launch of any new home products at its developer conference in May.

The new hardware products were to include connected speakers with digital-assistant and video chat capabilities. These hardware products from Facebook are undergoing a deeper review to ensure that they are handling user data correctly according to sources familiar with the matter. Facebook had never intended the devices to be available until this fall, but it had planned to unveil the hardware in May according to sources. Facebook still plans to launch the hardware devices later this year.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently posted on Facebook and admitted that his company made mistakes handling user data along the way.

Zuckerberg wrote, "We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you. I've been working to understand exactly what happened and how to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Facebook had held focus-group testing and found that users were concerned about a Facebook device in their living room because of the personal data shared on the social network.