Salim Virani’s piece, Get YourLoved One’s Off Facebook is an eye-opening account of Facebook’s incredibly harmful, intrusive, and
ever-changing privacy policy. Virani outlines all of the horrible things
Facebook does with the information it collects from you, the people you have on
Facebook, other sites you visit, your online bank account, and the
conversations you have with people using messaging apps like Facebook
Messenger. Anonymity is never guaranteed online, but its shocking to hear about
companies selling their customers personal data to ad companies and state
governments. Additionally, what’s even more shocking is how Facebook constantly
tracks users locations via GPS, even if the app itself isn’t open (but if you think about it... isn’t that what our phones are doing all the
time?).
The involuntary privacy changes that I’m apparently oblivious to came as
a real shock to me. Prior to reading the article, I was already aware of
Facebook’s dodgy advertising strategies, especially their tendency to take
information from your personal page and
and other sites you visit outside of Facebook to use in personalised ads that
pop up on your newsfeed. I’ve always been wary of connecting third party apps
to my Facebook, and I actually make a point of avoiding it at all costs;
something seems inherently fishy about that whole concept. Virani articulates exactly
what I’m feeling when he explains the way Facebook wiggles out of its own
privacy policy, and quietly replaces it with the privacy policy of the third
party app. Creepy.
This wasn’t the first time I had heard about apps turning on the
microphone or camera function without your consent or knowledge, and while initially
it may sound like a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory, once you think about it, it
starts to make sense. (As I’m writing this, I am proud to say that I have had
the camera on my MacBook covered since I the day I got it). Additionally, his
point about Facebook taking information from contacts you’ve synced with
Facebook Messenger is exactly the reason why I held off on getting Facebook
Messenger for so long. And while Virani condemns Facebook for meddling in
politics and blocking political Zuckerberg doesn’t like, It’s interesting to
note that after the election, twitter came under fire from one of their ex-employees
for the role the social media giant played in Trump’s victory. Also, the public
was concerned about the presence of racist memes and fake news on Facebook
leading up to the election. Zuckerberg brushed it all off, claiming that
Facebook is working to help users share content, not potentially censor
information. So racist alt-right memes have a place on Facebook but major
cultural turning points like the protests in Ferguson don’t? Hm. How are we to escape this never ending cycle of having our information
taken and sold without our consent? Virani says the best thing to do is remove
all of your posts and personal information, delete your account, and start
enjoying your newfound private life again.
What really shocked me is the illusion
of control we all have regarding privacy and personal information, but as we
see, it’s all just a façade. The sad reality is that Facebook (and probably a
bunch of other social media sites) are taking all of your information (and then some) for their own capitalist
gain. Additionally, what I really enjoyed about this post was that it was much,
much more the a “delete your Facebook because the internet is evil and millennials
are stupid” argument we’re used to hearing when people encourage us to give up
social media…. this was a well articulated, thorough piece that had countless
sources to back it up, which made it much easier to convince me of the severity
of the situation, leading me to start the process of getting rid of Facebook.
-Claire
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