Facebook is Mass Surveillance, Says Free Software Founder

[garrick]

I'd rather use something other than facebook but not unless all my friends want to leave at the same time as me. Also there are no other decent alternatives as even google + has privacy issues.

 

[ajkritch]

The fact that around a billion people use Facebook would mightily suggest that the vast, VAST majority of people in the world simply do not care about any "privacy concerns", or that the vast VAST majority of people simply have nothing to hide.

If you have a problem with the concept of privacy on Facebook, f*** off and don't use damned Facebook - that's my very blunt advice.

So what if Facebook *is* learning about your habbits and directing marketing at you? I don't even see what's supposedly bad or evil about that. I know I'd rather be bombarded with relevant marketing than half of the crap that arrives at my inbox every day.

I'm so tired of stereotypical nerds publicly slating social networking and implying that anyone who uses Facebook is either a pre-pubescent school child or a half-cut university student.

 

[back_by_demand]

[citation][nom]memadmax[/nom]ROFL....The "Ace in The Hole" is the CIA, that's why I mentioned it, them guys do whatever they want, whenever they want.... If they knowingly break laws while doing something, then they just pass the information that they gather to some other organization that will "legally" do whatever is needed..........You think you got "privacy" because you went international?Think again...[/citation]
CIA, MI6 and GCHQ, spying is not just James Bond anymore, those guys like messing with the networks in Iran for FUN, not just after getting an AG waiver.

 

[g4114rd0]

- "If this happens, after they'll recording you via the kinect."

 

[Guest]

Facebook = no value to your life, nuff said.

 

[tokencode]

[citation][nom]ajkritch[/nom]The fact that around a billion people use Facebook would mightily suggest that the vast, VAST majority of people in the world simply do not care about any "privacy concerns", or that the vast VAST majority of people simply have nothing to hide.If you have a problem with the concept of privacy on Facebook, f*** off and don't use damned Facebook - that's my very blunt advice.So what if Facebook *is* learning about your habbits and directing marketing at you? I don't even see what's supposedly bad or evil about that. I know I'd rather be bombarded with relevant marketing than half of the crap that arrives at my inbox every day.I'm so tired of stereotypical nerds publicly slating social networking and implying that anyone who uses Facebook is either a pre-pubescent school child or a half-cut university student.[/citation]

I would argue that your logic is more of a danger to society that those "stereotypical nerds" who question the motives behind collecting such information. Facebook is so ubiquitous that it is becoming increasing difficult to voice your opinion without consenting to their rediculous terms of use. Take USAToday for instance, Facebook is now required to post comments on stories with no alternative. Since my comment is posted publically and tied to Facebook, my opinion is identifiable to my name by anyone, not just my friends etc.

Why is this a bad idea? Well let's say I'm a Democrat (I'm really independent) and I work for a company with primarily Republican management and I voice my opinion in the comments on an article about abortion. If I work in a "at-will" work state, I can legally be fired from my job because of this post.

It's not that people have something to hide, it is that not everyone wants everyone else to know everything about them. It is not my current or future employer's business what my political views are, but if it's out there publically in an identifiable manner, there is nothing preventing them from discrimnating against me based on them.

Maybe the "nerds" thought Facebook users were all "pre-pubescent school child or a half-cut university students" because they are the only ones dumb enough to post all their political views for the world to see.

 

[K2N hater]

[citation][nom]ivaroeines[/nom]The real scary thing is that the general public don't seem to care about being under 24/7 surveillance, when i discuss these subjects with my friends and family they all see me as a nutter for raising the issue. That you are filmed everywhere you go isn't a problem when you don't do anything bad, they seem to think that cameras everywhere prevent crime, i don't think that. When in a few years a research project find out that cameras don't prevent crimes and suggest that everyone have a body monitor with gps tracker operated into your body( some people actually have them already ), then for sure all crimes will be solved and hence crime rates are reduced. People will think that this is a good thing, when subversive and dangerous people like myself are arrested for speaking our minds, thats a good thing, when you love the wrong person you get arrested( a man may do the real bad thing as to fall in love with another man ) this is a good thing( newsflash: most countries frown upon gay people ). With a gps tracker you can not be gay, have different political views or be friends with people the government find subversive ( like Muslims ), the world do have a bright future.[/citation]

"Most of us hate the body scanners. But how can they be harmful when the operator can't make it work?"

So here comes the call: Join the government. Easy access to politicians and when things get screwed up you can always fail their laws (see example).

 

[K2N hater]

[citation][nom]MDillenbeck[/nom]Oh well, legislating to protect the very stupid would only lead to an oppressive State...[/citation]
Laws exist to protect those who can't protect themselves. It's clear not even 1% of the people can defend their privacy against the myriad of ways to gather personal data through the internet. Calling all of them stupid is by no means a solution.

 

[someoneelse]

The funny thing about facebook is that they have no respect for their users privacy and yet if you try and find anything about who Facebook sell YOUR data to you get knowhere. Facebook understands the need for privacy for itself and for it's real customers ( the people who buy the data ) and then acts like privacy isn't a concern.

What the "if you've done nothing wrong you've got nothing to hide" brigade don't seem to understand is that some very just or moral things that do no harm to anyone can be considered illegal or can prejudice you in certain circumstances.