As users across the internet band together to #DeleteFacebook, one of America’s most popular men’s publications is joining in on the boycott. Playboy is leaving the site seemingly over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
In a press release from Tuesday night, Playboy pointed to myriad issues with Facebook that led to the decision. For one, Playboy had marketing difficulties on the site due to Facebook’s “strict content and policy guidelines.” The adult magazine simply decided to alter the publication’s tone at the time. But after Facebook’s “alleged mismanagement of users’ data,” Playboy decided the only option was to “suspend” its pages and get off the site.
“There are more than 25 million fans who engage with Playboy via our various Facebook pages, and we do not want to be complicit in exposing them to the reported practices,” Playboy said in the press release. “That is why we have announced that we will be leaving Facebook’s platform, deactivating the Playboy accounts that Playboy Enterprises manages directly.”
.@cooperhefner announced why @Playboy is deleting its Facebook page: pic.twitter.com/0OjwqoHKe5
— j.d. durkin (@jd_durkin) March 28, 2018
Playboy’s decision shouldn’t be taken lightly, either. 25 million users is a massive number. In comparison, Elon Musk pulled SpaceX and Tesla from Facebook last week, and both companies combined only had 5 million followers. The Verge points out that Playboy’s main traffic comes from Facebook, too, which means the brand’s departure isn’t just a black eye to Facebook; it’s a sacrifice on Playboy’s behalf.
Suffice to say, the internet is reacting pretty positively to Playboy’s decision.
https://twitter.com/skirtthejib/status/978973667014135809
https://twitter.com/IndivisibleMich/status/978969567199485952
Playboy’s leaving Facebook over the data-sharing scandal. You know it’s bad when a “gentlemen’s” mag says your values contradict theirs.
— Carolina Ron (@coffeeownsme) March 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/LourinCapital/status/978990344699183108
Twitter users hope this is the start of a larger movement, urging brands to protest against Facebook’s handle on users’ data.
https://twitter.com/6880o/status/978969804454338560
https://twitter.com/Justin_Thiel/status/978885206672396288
https://twitter.com/PaulO02472/status/978883115644006400
Playboy’s departure follows shortly after Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie said Facebook spies on its users by using smartphone microphones to determine one’s “environmental context.” Facebook’s vice president of ads products, Rob Goldman, denied the claim as recently as last October.