Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups • Hacker News Board

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#21

Post by marwis » Mon, Feb 05, 2024, 11:02 PM UTC

datadrivenangel wrote: post #9

Maybe we shouldn't be able to automate social media, but the problem is that this just means you need to hire people to do the automation manually... Which spammers and scammers may still do. All this does is make it harder for regular people to interact with facebook on their own terms.

Before shutdown of Events API Facebook was a convenient hub for social events and parties. Shutting it down led to organizers no longer posting events to FB (I guess they were using some 3rd party platforms that cross-post to multiple sites) and just removed one of the few remaining reasons to use FB.

This I imagine will have similar effect with some groups moving elsewhere (Instagram, Twitter?), just further shrinking userbase.

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#22

Post by gremlinsinc » Mon, Feb 05, 2024, 11:07 PM UTC

thimp wrote: post #20

andrewinardeer wrote: post #15

At this point a walled garden is more of heavily fortified border wall with razor wire, guns and armed troops.

[flagged]

that grass on the other side is cow dung spray painted green.

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#23

Post by 486sx33 » Mon, Feb 05, 2024, 11:12 PM UTC

Seems like, they didn’t want LLMs training on their data, unless it’s their LLMs… but also they want people interacting with the site to make posts, not posting via API as ads get no eyeballs when you post via API… also it’s only a matter of time before people just write scripts that generate LLMs output into a post on Facebook via API. I’m sure that’s already happening. Soon enough Facebook just becomes robots talking to robots..

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#24

Post by actionfromafar » Mon, Feb 05, 2024, 11:30 PM UTC

486sx33 wrote: post #23

Seems like, they didn’t want LLMs training on their data, unless it’s their LLMs… but also they want people interacting with the site to make posts, not posting via API as ads get no eyeballs when you post via API… also it’s only a matter of time before people just write scripts that generate LLMs output into a post on Facebook via API. I’m sure that’s already happening. Soon enough Facebook just becomes robots talki…

Which cyberpunk novel is that? Something about strata upon strata of computing talking trash.

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#25

Post by klyrs » Mon, Feb 05, 2024, 11:35 PM UTC

actionfromafar wrote: post #24

486sx33 wrote: post #23

Seems like, they didn’t want LLMs training on their data, unless it’s their LLMs… but also they want people interacting with the site to make posts, not posting via API as ads get no eyeballs when you post via API… also it’s only a matter of time before people just write scripts that generate LLMs output into a post on Facebook via API. I’m sure that’s already happening. Soon enough Facebook just becomes robots talki…

Which cyberpunk novel is that? Something about strata upon strata of computing talking trash.

Neal Stephenson's Anathem, I believe.

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#26

Post by Animats » Mon, Feb 05, 2024, 11:42 PM UTC

"...the shutdown of the API would cause problems for companies that offer solutions to customers who want to schedule and automate their social media posts."

Turning off automated posting ought to be an improvement.

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#27

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC » Mon, Feb 05, 2024, 11:52 PM UTC

My guess is that it has to do with the election. Any automated use of Facebook is going to invite unwanted scrutiny, and so Facebook is probably locking down a bunch of third-party automation.

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#28

Post by beretguy » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 12:43 AM UTC

486sx33 wrote: post #23

Seems like, they didn’t want LLMs training on their data, unless it’s their LLMs… but also they want people interacting with the site to make posts, not posting via API as ads get no eyeballs when you post via API… also it’s only a matter of time before people just write scripts that generate LLMs output into a post on Facebook via API. I’m sure that’s already happening. Soon enough Facebook just becomes robots talki…

“ Soon enough Facebook just becomes robots talking to robots..”

I’m looking forward to this.

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#29

Post by iszomer » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 2:28 AM UTC

iszomer wrote: post #7

1-6 wrote: post #3

Sounds like gatekeeping such that AI crawlers can’t access.

Except from their own subsidiaries?

edit: I was missing some context.

- https://www.reuters.com/technology/metas-new-ai-chatbot-trai...

Re: Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups

#30

Post by iszomer » Tue, Feb 06, 2024, 2:30 AM UTC

beretguy wrote: post #28

486sx33 wrote: post #23

Seems like, they didn’t want LLMs training on their data, unless it’s their LLMs… but also they want people interacting with the site to make posts, not posting via API as ads get no eyeballs when you post via API… also it’s only a matter of time before people just write scripts that generate LLMs output into a post on Facebook via API. I’m sure that’s already happening. Soon enough Facebook just becomes robots talki…

“ Soon enough Facebook just becomes robots talking to robots..” I’m looking forward to this.

The Dead Internet Theory is becoming truer by the day it seems.

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Internet_theory