The scourge of Facebook

[handdrummer]

I think you're missing the point (again). The politicians are concerned that FB would have control over a potentially huge monetary flow, and if it does with that what it has done with customers' personal data, there are likely to be very big problems down the line.

For once, I agree with the politicians. FB can't be trusted to be a global bank (but then neither can the global banks).

In that case, Facebook would be like all the other payment platforms that have control over a huge monetary flow and would need to be regulated the same way credit card cos. are regulated.

Everyone sells personal data, otherwise, there would be no targeted ads.

I think there is animosity against Facebook, on the part of congress, that doesn't exist against other credit issuers. I'm not a Facebook user so I don't care what they do and I don't like govt. overregulation and control. Control is the main issue.

Every day I see the US govt. attempting to gain more control over people's lives. From voting laws to abortion, there's a move toward the Chinese way of doing things and that goes back to protect you from yourself.

So, no I didn't miss the point, I expanded the point and there's more than one point.

I agree with you about global banks and you can add in multinational corporations.

[buksida]

I'd agree with most of that. Facebook is far more insidious though as it is a danger to society through its promotion and dissemination of fake news, racism, scams, and abuse (no other platform does that at such scale), so it does need to be stopped or heavily controlled IMO. It would not be just like another regular payment or ad platform because it is already intertwined with billions of lives.

[handdrummer]

I'd agree with most of that. Facebook is far more insidious though as it is a danger to society through its promotion and dissemination of fake news, racism, scams, and abuse (no other platform does that at such scale), so it does need to be stopped or heavily controlled IMO. It would not be just like another regular payment or ad platform because it is already intertwined with billions of lives.

Not being a Facebook participant I don't know what they do other than forwarding messages to people. If they promote and disseminate fake news, racism, scams, abuse, etc., then yes, they do need to be preferably stopped or at least controlled.

I don't know how that could be done other than policing every post on its platform and that would be a monumental job, although, China does it quite well with severe consequences for those who disobey the rules. Probably wouldn't work in the US with it's first amendment rights and generally don't tread on me attitude toward everything.

Surveillance is increasing and I imagine something will be done to reign in Facebook.

[buksida]

Five questions in Westminster for Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen
Frances Haugen brings her searing assessment of Facebook to Westminster on Monday with an appearance at the joint committee scrutinising the draft online safety bill.

The former facebook employee has provoked an onslaught of criticism of Mark Zuckerberg’s company by releasing tens of thousands of internal Facebook documents outlining the firm’s failure to keep harmful content off its platforms (as well as its eponymous social network, Facebook owns Instagram, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp). She has already testified to US senators this month at a hearing in which she accused the company of putting “astronomical profits before people”.

...

She released tens of thousands of documents because she believed Facebook was not doing enough to tackle the harms that were being committed on its platforms, which have 2.8 billion daily users. She believes that Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder, chief executive and controlling shareholder, is a barrier to change. “He has not demonstrated that he is willing to govern the company at the level that is necessary for public safety.”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... ces-haugen

Inside the Big Facebook Leak
In a time of mega-leaks, journalists’ sources have become power players. Frances Haugen, the former Facebook product manager who shared company documents, led a meticulous media rollout.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/24/busi ... augen.html

[Lost]

With all the problems concerning Facebook recently, Mark Zuckerberg has changed the company name to Meta. He is now CEO of Meta, not Facebook. He just oversees Facebook on the side. Problem solved.


https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59083601

[Lost]

And a glimpse into Mark Zuckerberg's vision for the metaverse. 'Ready Player One' level worlds will definitely be about in my lifetime.

I still find myself rocking the SNES and N64 games! I need to catch up.

[Big Boy]

The Translation button has made a welcome return to Facebook today for Thai language. Crap translations, but better than nothing.

[buksida]

Watchdogs Urge DOJ to Investigate Legality of Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Venture
Financial industry watchdogs are asking federal officials to attempt to stop the cryptocurrency pilot program launched by Facebook, noting that the U.S. government has the power to criminally prosecute executives for operating the venture.

The Open Markets Institute sent a letter on November 23 to numerous regulatory agencies and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), saying the omnipresent tech conglomerate may be “in the illegal business of receiving deposits without a bank charter.”

...

“Facebook’s pilot is likely another attempt by the firm to further grow its dominance in digital advertising, and monetize its users’ private data,” said Alexis Goldstein, financial policy director at the Open Markets Institute.

Considering “Facebook’s track record of violating user privacy, and Facebook’s ongoing need to find new profit centers,” the Open Markets Institute warned, “there is absolutely no reason to believe its promises today that it will not find a way to monetize its digital assets pilot project.”

https://truthout.org/articles/watchdogs ... y-venture/

[buksida]

ROHINGYA SUE FACEBOOK FOR $150B, ALLEGING ROLE IN VIOLENCE
Rohingya refugees sued social network powerhouse Facebook for more than $150 billion, accusing it of failing to stop hate speech that incited violence against the Muslim ethnic group by military rulers and their supporters in Myanmar.

Years after coming under scrutiny for contributing to ethnic and religious violence in Myanmar, recently revealed internal Facebook documents show the company still has problems defining and moderating hate speech and misinformation on its platform in the country. The breaches have even been exploited by hostile actors since the Feb. 1 military takeover this year that resulted in human rights abuses across the country.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/int ... -violence/

[buksida]

Viral lies spread democratic decay from Thailand to Nepal: report
When fake photos and COVID conspiracies spiral across Facebook or TikTok, critics invariably ask how to protect people from the dregs of the internet. But a new report on disinformation in Asia suggests that focusing on technology misses the point and that a crackdown on tech may treat the symptom, not the disease.

...

Though social media giants profit by allowing manipulated content on their platforms, regulation alone isn't a solution, the report says. Lasting fixes, it says, would get to the roots of both supply and demand of disinformation.

On the demand side, this includes tackling inequality, which breeds distrust in the establishment. On the supply side, it includes strengthening institutions like an independent judiciary and press to counter actors who spread lies online to gain political influence.

...

Democratic erosion caused the scourge of disinformation, and wiping it from the internet won't address why people spread it, the researchers say.

It is not tech but "societal rifts brought about by worsening socioeconomic inequality and their political manifestations that have resulted in a democratic rollback in Asia and the Pacific and elsewhere," they write.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Viral- ... pal-report

[handdrummer]

If you want to control people, and governments do want that, control the media and spread disinformation. Worked for Goebles and Trump for a while.

[buksida]

Facebook's dream of creating its own global cryptocurrency officially comes to an end
In June 2019, after years of being under scrutiny for the impact its platforms have on society, Facebook unveiled one of its most ambitious projects yet: a cryptocurrency called Libra, which would be backed by an international consortium of companies. The effort had such lofty goals as providing financial services to the underbanked and extending the social media company's mission of connecting the world into the burgeoning market for digital money.

Libra was originally slated to launch within less than a year. Two and a half years later, the project — renamed Diem last year — has officially unraveled after various setbacks and regulatory pressure made it impossible to get off the ground.

On Monday, the Facebook-backed Diem Association announced it would dissolve and sell off the intellectual property and other assets related to running its planned cryptocurrency network to Silvergate Capital Corporation, in a deal valued at $182 million. The Diem Association expects to begin "winding down" in the coming weeks, according to the announcement.

The project was dogged from the start by concerns from regulators, lawmakers and other financial services industry watchers about a cryptocurrency run by Facebook (now called Meta), which has struggled to prevent issues such as crime and abuses of user data on its existing platforms. And Diem's end is a sign that regulators, who have explored a range of ways to crack down on Meta but have yet to act on much of it, do hold some sway over the tech giant and its ability to expand into new product areas.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/01/tech ... index.html

[buksida]

Mark Zuckerberg and team consider shutting down Facebook and Instagram in Europe if Meta can not process Europeans’ data on US servers
If Meta is not given the option to transfer, store and process data from its European users on US-based servers, Facebook and Instagram may be shut down across Europe, the social media giants’ owner reportedly warned in its annual report.

The key issue for Meta is transatlantic data transfers, regulated via the so-called Privacy Shield and other model agreements that Meta uses or used to store data from European users on American servers. The current agreements to enable data transfers are currently under heavy scrutiny in the EU.

In its annual report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Meta warns that if a new framework is not adopted and the company is no longer allowed to use the current model agreements “or alternatives,” the company will “probably” no longer be able to offer many of its “most significant products and services,” including Facebook and Instagram, in the EU, according to various media reports, including in iTWire, The Guardian newspaper and Side Line Magazine.

https://www.cityam.com/mark-zuckerberg- ... s-servers/

Pleeeease add Asia to that Zuckerbuck ...

[handdrummer]

Pleeeease add Asia to that Zuckerbuck ...

Why do you want to stop people from using their services? Shouldn't that be the choice of the individual?

I don't use any social media, other than this Forum, so I wouldn't be affected but I don't like censorship.

[buksida]

Why do you want to stop people from using their services? Shouldn't that be the choice of the individual?

Where did I say that? I couldn't give a rats arse if people want to waste their lives on the thing looking at digital pollution.

I simply believe the platform is insidious and would be happy to see it blocked/shut down in the region. There are pages and pages of news reports and research in this thread alone that back up my views of Farcebook which are clearly shared by many people.

I don't use any social media, other than this Forum, so I wouldn't be affected but I don't like censorship.

You seem to be a secret Facebook fanatic as you have a retort for pretty much everything I post in this thread without adding a counterbalance as to why FB is so good or should be used by everyone.