Facebook COO: Experiment "Poorly Communicated"

The Facebook study conducted a few years back that has so many riled up has finally drawn a response from the company itself. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has spoken out about the "experiment". Apologizing for the "poor communication" of the program, which lasted for one week in 2012.

Sandberg was in India, speaking with several small-to-medium sized businesses which advertise with Facebook when she remarked on the kerfuffle. Sandberg was at a meeting for her "Lean In" campaign when she made her statement on the matter.

"This was part of ongoing research companies do to test different products, and that was what it was; it was poorly communicated. And for that communication we apologize. We never meant to upset you" said Sandberg.

The uproar is over a week-long experiment wherein Facebook adjusted users' news feed to alter moods. By adjusting the amount of positive or negative buzzwords users see via posts, Facebook was attempting to see if their own posts would reflect the change in news feed. Successful as it was, news of the experiment has ruffled feathers nonetheless.

"We take privacy and security at Facebook really seriously" Sandberg added.

Source: The Wall Street Journal