I'm
fully aware of the irony of making this announcement on FaceBook
itself, but there are one or two people here who may want to read this.
After a good bit of thought about it, I've decided to abandon FaceBook. That means about 48 hours from now I will delete my account here and never come back. I won't miss it. Not that I have ever been a particularly active participant, but for the few people with whom I interact here, you guys may want to note the following particulars:
You will not be able to reach me here. I won't see your photos and messages. You won't see my likes or thumbs up on your posts, not because I don't like you anymore, but because I'm not here to see them.
Why take this step?
More and more I've become disenchanted with FaceBook. Part of this is personal. Rather than bringing us closer, I now believe that FaceBook segregates and separates us, using its algorithms to create a competitive us versus them echo chamber in which we all try to one-up one another, either seeking to prove how happy we are, how beautiful are our surroundings or how accomplished we all are as compared to our friends.
Worse, our "friends" have value to us mainly as data points, to be collected and interacted with only in the most superficial on-line manner. We see each other in cyber space while avoiding one another out here in meat-space. While some online social activity is enjoyable, FaceBook encourages time wasting and deleterious boasting inside our circles while simultaneously bashing those outside our chosen groups, activities most of us would never do in person.
More to the point, though, I'm deeply distrustful of FaceBook as a corporate entity. I don't care about Mark Zuckerberg's politics. I do care about the business model of his main company. Facebook's business model seems designed to encourage the unexamined, careless sharing of personal data for which we receive no compensation. That personal data has great value to FaceBook and should have similar value to us. Yet FaceBook exists by taking our data and selling it, often without our knowledge, certainly without an equitable compensation, to entities unknown and unknowable. FaceBook seeks to take from us as much as possible while giving back to us next to nothing of real and lasting value. We have value to FaceBook; FaceBook has no comparable value to us. At its core this is an asymetric relationship. We are the product, not the customer.
But the incident that has crystalized my decision to leave this platform is the news that FaceBook has recently lost an appeal over their allegedly illegal use of facial recognition technology. The class action lawsuit alleges Facebook illegally collected and stored biometric data on millions of users without their consent, in violation of the rule of law. FaceBook, rather than comply with the laws, is fighting the suit in court.
Recently a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 3-0 against FaceBook. The law is clear about the obligations surrounding facial recognition, especially implementing it without notification. Yet FaceBook allegedly did so and has fought all attempts to force them to comply with their legal obligations. Despite losing this appeal, a FaceBook representative said the company will appeal again. They apparently have no intention of ever following the law.
This is not the behavior of a benign corporate citizen. This is the arrogant and abusive behavior of a secretive and malicious organization, one which just last month paid a FIVE BILLION DOLLAR fine to the FTC over privacy violations and which now faces billions if not trillions more in this lawsuit over similar violations.
Consequently, I will no longer participate on their namesake platform. You may do what you want.
After a good bit of thought about it, I've decided to abandon FaceBook. That means about 48 hours from now I will delete my account here and never come back. I won't miss it. Not that I have ever been a particularly active participant, but for the few people with whom I interact here, you guys may want to note the following particulars:
You will not be able to reach me here. I won't see your photos and messages. You won't see my likes or thumbs up on your posts, not because I don't like you anymore, but because I'm not here to see them.
Why take this step?
More and more I've become disenchanted with FaceBook. Part of this is personal. Rather than bringing us closer, I now believe that FaceBook segregates and separates us, using its algorithms to create a competitive us versus them echo chamber in which we all try to one-up one another, either seeking to prove how happy we are, how beautiful are our surroundings or how accomplished we all are as compared to our friends.
Worse, our "friends" have value to us mainly as data points, to be collected and interacted with only in the most superficial on-line manner. We see each other in cyber space while avoiding one another out here in meat-space. While some online social activity is enjoyable, FaceBook encourages time wasting and deleterious boasting inside our circles while simultaneously bashing those outside our chosen groups, activities most of us would never do in person.
More to the point, though, I'm deeply distrustful of FaceBook as a corporate entity. I don't care about Mark Zuckerberg's politics. I do care about the business model of his main company. Facebook's business model seems designed to encourage the unexamined, careless sharing of personal data for which we receive no compensation. That personal data has great value to FaceBook and should have similar value to us. Yet FaceBook exists by taking our data and selling it, often without our knowledge, certainly without an equitable compensation, to entities unknown and unknowable. FaceBook seeks to take from us as much as possible while giving back to us next to nothing of real and lasting value. We have value to FaceBook; FaceBook has no comparable value to us. At its core this is an asymetric relationship. We are the product, not the customer.
But the incident that has crystalized my decision to leave this platform is the news that FaceBook has recently lost an appeal over their allegedly illegal use of facial recognition technology. The class action lawsuit alleges Facebook illegally collected and stored biometric data on millions of users without their consent, in violation of the rule of law. FaceBook, rather than comply with the laws, is fighting the suit in court.
Recently a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 3-0 against FaceBook. The law is clear about the obligations surrounding facial recognition, especially implementing it without notification. Yet FaceBook allegedly did so and has fought all attempts to force them to comply with their legal obligations. Despite losing this appeal, a FaceBook representative said the company will appeal again. They apparently have no intention of ever following the law.
This is not the behavior of a benign corporate citizen. This is the arrogant and abusive behavior of a secretive and malicious organization, one which just last month paid a FIVE BILLION DOLLAR fine to the FTC over privacy violations and which now faces billions if not trillions more in this lawsuit over similar violations.
Consequently, I will no longer participate on their namesake platform. You may do what you want.
