Privacy Dies as Facebook Lies
by Miki Saxon
During the dark ages of the 1970s, 80s and into the 90s people who refrained from drinking soda, living on fast food and cooked for themselves, instead of relying on the convenience of processed foods, were disparaged.
I know, because I was one of them. We were called “health food nuts.”
That changed with the advent of research into sugar, the value of veggies and a more general understanding that health wasn’t an accident, but a personal responsibility based on your own choices.
In the 1980s the World Wide Web became ubiquitous and existing bulletin board systems, such as AOL, migrated to the web. The dot com boom saw the birth and growth of social media communities that were free — and everybody loves free.
The contemporary internet was built on a bargain: Show us who you really are and the digital world will be free to search or share.
People detailed their interests and obsessions on Facebook and Google, generating a river of data that could be collected and harnessed for advertising. The companies became very rich. Users seemed happy. Privacy was deemed obsolete, like bloodletting and milkmen.
That bargain led to a new kind of nut.
“Privacy nuts;” I’m one of those, too.
As with health food nuts, privacy nuts were pooh-poohed as Luddites, anti-progressive, alarmist party-poopers.
But as they say, that was then and this is now.
Most people, no matter how they access their news, are aware of the stunning breaches in Facebook’s security, especially the current Cambridge Analytica fiasco.
That also seemed to wake people up to what the privacy nuts have been warning about all along.
Zuckerberg, of course, claims he supports the privacy law Congress is considering, but covertly Facebook is lobbying against it, so his statement that he would offer EU controls globally is highly unlikely.
Never forget that for Facebook it’s all about money.
The power of the company’s ad platform comes from the ability it gives politicians, brands, real estate agents, nonprofits and others to precisely target people on its social networks.
Of course, it’s not just Facebook.
And while Congress runs hearings and the public freaks out Zuck, as he is called, still seems to believe that it’s not Facebook’s fault and what happened should be excused because the his vision is for it to be a force for good.
but change is unlikely to happen, since greed still rules.
After two days of questioning by American lawmakers, Facebook’s share price rose more than 5%—mostly on the first day of Zuckerberg’s testimony—boosting the tech company’s market value by more than $24 billion.
Finally, NEWYORKMAG.COM provided commentary from people who are far closer to both Zukerberg and Facebook. The interviews are a real wakeup call (if you still need one).
A Propaganda Engine ‘Unlike Any in History’: Q&A With Early Facebook Investor
A conversation with early Facebook investor Roger McNamee on propaganda, early warning signs, and why outrage is so addictive.
Image credit: Marco Paköeningrat
