Getting hacked is one of the worst possible things that can happen if you have a social media account. So it stands to reason that Facebook would do everything in its power to assist users who have had their privacy violated in this way. However, according to many affected users and advocates, the social media giant often isn’t helpful at all.

According to a report in Digital Trends this week, one reason the company might be so unresponsive is because it doesn’t see its users as customers. Instead, our data makes us the product. As experts point out, Facebook’s history seems to suggest that they value ad revenue over protecting users.

“You would think that it would be in their interest to improve their security practices,” Christine Bannan, a lawyer for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told Digital Trends. “But the history of Facebook has shown the company to be more interested in growth and ad revenue and prioritizing that over security.”

What’s worse, the company has the capability to build a robust customer service department, but chooses not to.

“I wouldn’t say that they’re not capable of dealing with consumers’ privacy issues, I would say they’re more than capable of it, but they’re totally uninterested because it’s not a profitable activity,” Consumer Action spokesperson Joseph Ridout said.

These complaints about Facebook are, unfortunately, not surprising. However, the good news is that more people seem to be becoming aware of Facebook’s true business model — collecting our data.

We often advise users to do everything they can to protect their accounts in the first place. We have been well aware of the fact that users often lose accounts forever. We recommend enabling two-factor authentication and setting up your Trusted Contacts for maximum security.

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