My fear is that without action, divisive and extremist behaviors we see today are only the beginning of what we saw in Myanmar and now in Ethiopia are the opening chapters of a story so terrifying that no one wants to read the end of it. Congress can change the rules that facebook plays by and stop the many harms it is now causing. We now know the truth about facebook’s instructive impact–destructive impact. I came forward at great personal risk because I believe we still have time to act, but we must act now. I am asking you to act.
Frances Haugen, October 5 2021 to Congress
Tag: facebook
What Makes a Market
Another nonfiction book about the social network is released that reiterates statements made about a decade ago:
- The company monetizes data of persons who toggle its web-based computer program.
- The company cares about its survival and market share above other considerations.
- The company buys other smaller companies that do what it does to clear the field.
The Federal Trade Commission lost an antitrust case because the Commission did not provide evidence that Facebook was a monopoly. But the Court is willing to revisit the acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram.
This case hinges on the determinants of the social media market. The marketplace is of people data, but the impression is that the market is services or utilities. So, social media marketing campaigns that place people as users instead of data units serves to complicate antitrust cases in that it blurs the definition of the social media market itself.
Facebook and Inevitability
Mark Zuckerberg confronts that some advertisers boycott his platform. He is sure that they will return and communicated that to his Facebook group.
Facebook is not a neutral platform and business is not neutral either. Companies endorse how Facebook targets their desired demographics when they pay Facebook. It is why they pay Facebook.
Will companies return to Facebook because it is inevitable? Or is their inevitability what they are selling?
Mozilla privacy not included product list
Products meet basic requirements
Mozilla provides a guide on products that are designed with minimum security standards (noted with a star with laurels). These include:
- Encrypted communication
- Security Updates
- Strong Password requirement
- System in place to manage vulnerabilities
- Privacy Policy for the device
Degree of privacy
Products are also listed from “not creepy!” (Switch, Sonos, Kindle) to “super creepy” (Ring cams, Facebook Portal).
James Madison and Current Polarization
Exacerbating all this political antagonism is the development that might distress Madison the most: media polarization, which has allowed geographically dispersed citizens to isolate themselves into virtual factions, communicating only with like-minded individuals and reinforcing shared beliefs.
From Jeffrey Rosen’s article in the Atlantic “America Is Living James Madison’s Nightmare”