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< | In less than ten years, Facebook has transformed--for better or for worse--the way that the entire world interfaces with one another. For many, it has become the prime forum for social participation. Critics of Facebook point to the narcissistic exhibitionism which it promotes, but the internet site has also provided communities, groups, activists, and individuals with a virtual nexus. | >
> | This post explores the risks of using Facebook, and the risks of your peers using Facebook even if you do not. Facebook transformed the way that the world interacts. For many, it has become the prime forum for social participation. Critics of Facebook point to the narcissistic exhibitionism which it promotes, but the internet site has also provided communities, groups, activists, and individuals with a virtual nexus. | | | | |
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< | Increased connectivity, by way of Facebook, has not come without a cost. As we meander, linger, and troll through the internet, our choices transform into pieces of data which characterize our virtual counterparts. This data can then be used by companies attempting to sell us products, and in some cases, by law enforcement officials attempting to peer into our lives. This post, started by HarryKhanna, examines some of the risks of Facebook as it currently operates and discusses our own complicity with regards to those risks. | >
> | This connectivity has not come without a cost. As we meander, linger, and troll through the internet, our choices transform into pieces of data which characterize our virtual counterparts. This data can then be used by companies attempting to sell us products, and in some cases, by law enforcement officials attempting to peer into our lives. | | | Facebook is Dangerous | |
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< | In an article for IT World Magazine, Eben describes Facebook as analagous to a "man in the middle" attack that a hacker might employ to intercept apparently private communication for nefarious purposes. I think Eben's analogy is spot on: facebook is not a technical hack, it is a social hack. We, as a society, are oblivious to the increasing damage Facebook is inflicting on our privacy and the danger it can pose to people who are deemed "criminals" wanted by law enforcement | >
> | Eben describes Facebook as analagous to a "man in the middle" attack that a hacker might employ to intercept apparently private communication for nefarious purposes. I think Eben's analogy is spot on: facebook is not a technical hack, it is a social hack. We are oblivious to the increasing damage Facebook is inflicting on our privacy and the danger it can pose to people who are deemed "criminals" wanted by law enforcement. | | | Every mainstream news website, most blogs, and virtually all shopping websites have Facebook "Like" buttons which can be used to track your activity on that site even if you don't touch the "Like" button. You can't go anywhere on the internet without accessing Facebook's servers, whether or not you even have a Facebook account. Some people believe that they can control the data gathered about there internet use, but instead they have more of an illusion of control. Just because it is possible to turn off what one 'shares' on your account doesn't mean that Facebook isn't collecting the data and turning it over to anyone who requests it without a warrant. | | | Examples of the Disturbing Uses of Facebook | |
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< | Elvira pointed to an article which highlights the disturbing uses of facebook. She made the point that employers and schools that are demanding usernames and passwords are engaging in a very particular form of voyeurism rather than in any useful applicant vetting process.
Rumbi also highlighted another troubling use of Facebook: a geolocation app that allows users to map the presence of prospective paramours with publicly available facebook profiles.
Kieran noted an article that shows the ways in which Facebook provides data to police investigators. Facebook handed over lists with lists of the suspect's friends, IP logins, photos, tags, and messages. Given that facebook won't acknowledge how many subpoenas they've responded too, we have no way of knowing how often domestic law enforcement or other less savory entities are pouring through our social data. | >
> | There is no shortage of examples that highlight the disturbing uses of Facebook.
| | | All of these articles illustrate the ways in which data collected through facebook can be used in ways that is not consistent with users' desires and not anticipated by them when they choose to sign up for Facebook.
The Dangers of Facebook Reflect Broader Internet Hazards | |
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< | The problem is that most of these privacy issues aren't relegated to Facebook. They permeate almost all of the web as we know it. To free ourselves of similar risks, we may need to change the way you interact with the Internet altogether. For one, the majority of us use free hosted email (Gmail, predominantly, I'd imagine). It is likely that more private, relevant data is exchanged through email than through Facebook, especially given that most people see Gmail as a completely private place and Facebook as at least a somewhat public place. That being said, the pervasive nature of internet spying supports an argument for greater public outcry and stronger attempts to limit companies' use of our online information, not less of either. | >
> | These disturbing issues aren't relegated to Facebook. They're all over the internet. For example, the majority of us use free hosted email (Gmail, predominantly, I'd imagine). It is likely that more private, relevant data is exchanged through email than through Facebook, especially given that most people see Gmail as a completely private place and Facebook as at least a somewhat public place. That being said, the pervasive nature of internet spying supports an argument for greater public outcry and stronger attempts to limit companies' use of our online information, not less of either. | | | What Can Users Do? | |
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< | "Maybe you don't care if Facebook or law enforcement can track where you are at any given moment. But if the world someday becomes a place where you do care, by then it might be too late to do anything about it." Harry's ominous warning should not be ignored. To some degree, facebook users are not oblivious as to how their internet use is monitored. It is possible that a good amount of people do not mind "Facebook exposure" and are not naive to the fact that through Facebook other websites can track where they've been and create formulas to ascertain suggestions on future internet use. But perhaps the danger occurs in the public's general lack of how the information can be used against them. In Moglen's Freedom in the Cloud speech, he discusses the flaws in the networks we use, but remarks that all is not lost, "It's not a pretty story...We haven't lost. We've just really bamboozled ourselves. And we're going to have to unbamboozle ourselves really quickly or we're going to bamboozle a bunch of innocent people who didn't know we were throwing away their privacy for them forever." Moglen's speech served as a brief education on how information on the web is collected and can serve as a cautionary tale for educating individuals about the extent to which their collected information is used. If the extent of the problem is so vast, when will we reach the point to where people demand more transparency? At what point should we hold users accountable for performing due diligence, and putting in some effort to find out how their information is used?
It is necessary that we lift the veil on the ways that we use technology and how it can be used against us. Skylar noted that the recent SOPA debates helped to catalyze discussions around internet freedom. Lectures on these topics and other ones related to internet rights are good first steps towards understanding our online lives. If we educate ourselves, we can better advocate for ourselves. Harry also suggested that we can make attempts to use alternative corridors for information sharing. At the very least, we should remember that we have options. | >
> | Maybe you don't care if Facebook or law enforcement can track where you are at any given moment.Maybe Facebook users are not oblivious as to how their internet use is monitored. It is possible that many people do not mind "Facebook exposure" and are not naive to the fact that through Facebook other websites track and log their movements on the internet. But perhaps the danger occurs in the public's general lack of how the information can be used against them. In Eben's Freedom in the Cloud speech, he discusses the flaws in the networks we use, but remarks that all is not lost, "It's not a pretty story...We haven't lost. We've just really bamboozled ourselves. And we're going to have to unbamboozle ourselves really quickly or we're going to bamboozle a bunch of innocent people who didn't know we were throwing away their privacy for them forever." Eben's speech served as a brief education on how information on the web is collected and can serve as a cautionary tale for educating individuals about the extent to which their collected information is used. The problem is vast, and eventually will we reach the point where people demand more transparency. | | |
-- HarryKhanna, SanjayMurti, AbiolaFasehun, SkylarPolansky, ElviraKras, RumbidzaiMaweni, KieranCoe, TomaLivshiz | |
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< | P.s. I tried to edit and consolidate this post as Eben has suggested that we do. If you feel that I have mischaracterized a point in a way that has upset you or consolidated the post in an ineffective manner, I apologize and please feel free to modify it!
This is a wonderful synthesis, Toma, thank you for doing it! |
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