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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