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Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

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101–110 of 152 posts

Re: Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

#101

Don't be fooled. Zuckerberg is the head of the organization and has both created and internalized the economic logic of his organization, but the problem is systemic. If you put in someone else, they'll have a different style and might do a few things slightly different, but the economic logic is the same. Spying on the population is profitable, so such operations must be expanded to the maximum possible extent. We c…

> We must go further and outlaw this business model Laws work best when they outlaw the harm, not the method. Strengthening privacy rights and pursuing antitrust action around that [1] will deter similar business models in the future. If Zuckerberg willfully violated the FTC consent decree, there are ways to make him pay that discincentivise similar behavior in future. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/28/opinion/p…

FB is still only one head of the hydra. Amazon, LinkedIn, Google all profit off of the collection and use of personal data. A massive chunk of Silicon Valley's cash hoards depend on advertising. And when that much money is on the line, regulators tend to take on a 'light touch'.

Re: Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

#103

He also openly ignores requests to testify in front of UK & Canadian parliamentary committees... Think about that for a minute. Someone who controls 3b people. Runs psychological experiments using AI. Bans accounts of people who violate corporate-created policies that weren't debated or voted on by the public. Violates FCC settlements. And then refuses to be held accountable - or answer questions- from first world, d…

So stop using Facebook. (I'm not defending Facebook's practices, but nothing is stopping you, your friends, or family from just not using Facebook/Insta/What's App anymore.) Is a banned account really something that should be subject to a public vote? That's ridiculous; that implies that Facebook is some kind of human right. It isn't. Stop using it if you don't like it.

Re: Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

#104

Facebook is a one-man show. Zuckerberg owning 60% of the company and no one can say anything to him. Moreover, one man has the entire monopoly over our entire online social life. Other networks have come and failed. Anti Trust regulators should seriously open Facebook's file and break it.

> one man has the entire monopoly over our entire online social life

You chose that. I don't need Facebook/Insta/What's App to have an "online social life." Literally nobody is forced to participate in that nonsense. Use Snap, iMessage, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, Slack, IRC, 500px, Vimeo, Signal, email, SMS, phone calls -- there are plenty of options.

FB, Insta, What's App aren't the entirety of the social media universe. You can't be "mad" at Facebook and then continue to use it. That's a bit hypocritical. If this situation is really that important, then stop using those services! It seems like the same thought patterns seen in abusive relationships: he beats me, but I can't live without him. That's bullshit. Leave those platforms. You see it as a "monopoly" because you allow it to be.

Re: Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

#105
post #21

This seems to be the one guy on the planet who surpasses Trump in his ability to get into the news every 2 days. No tweeting required even. How are his staff not just jumping out of windows? I mean it's been one article after the other for 3 years now. Almost impressed by the endurance.

To some extent Facebook acts the way it does because it knows media attention has no teeth. Zuck knows he can just bide his time and scandals will slide off him like morning dew off a leaf.

Re: Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

#106
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mark owns less than 30% of Facebook.

Voting shares are real ownership.

No, they're voting shares... He owns the majority of voting shares, but they aren't worth the majority of the value of company, and therefore he doesn't "own the majority of the company".

Re: Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

#107

Honestly I don’t see the problem, Facebook’s privacy stance has been well known for years. I don’t use their product much because of this, but friends and family couldn’t care less. Their response is that they don’t care if someone reads their messages or tailors ads to them and no matter how hard I try it won’t change their minds. If you don’t like their privacy stance just don’t use the product, it’s not like there…

Not all, but part of the outrage is political. A lot of (D) folks are looking for someone to blame for the current political climate. I'll stick my neck out a bit and wager that a lot of news outlets running privacy stories wouldn't think twice about selling their customers data for ad revenue.

> A lot of (D) folks are looking for someone to blame for the current political climate.

Correct. When the Obama campaign used data just as aggressively as Cambridge, people cheered how "technologically advanced" that campaign was. People have a selective memory, but Facebook data harvesting and exploitation was a critical strategy used by Obama to win his elections. I guess 2008 and 2012 are too far back for most people to remember.

Re: Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

#108

He also openly ignores requests to testify in front of UK & Canadian parliamentary committees... Think about that for a minute. Someone who controls 3b people. Runs psychological experiments using AI. Bans accounts of people who violate corporate-created policies that weren't debated or voted on by the public. Violates FCC settlements. And then refuses to be held accountable - or answer questions- from first world, d…

So stop using Facebook. (I'm not defending Facebook's practices, but nothing is stopping you, your friends, or family from just not using Facebook/Insta/What's App anymore.) Is a banned account really something that should be subject to a public vote? That's ridiculous; that implies that Facebook is some kind of human right. It isn't. Stop using it if you don't like it.

You make it seem like is isn't a bit of a collective problem though. Sure, you can not use Facebook and you'll miss all the information about your friends and their events. (Did you see the comment in this thread from someone who missed their high school reunion because it was only listed on Facebook?) You either "choose" to give up all of that or submit to every one of Facebook's practices. For some people that might be easy but for others it means they will miss many social interactions with the people they love who still use the site.

You can say, sure thats why you should use Facebook. But I could imagine a slightly less evil Facebook that still provided that value to me. Perhaps there will be a concerted effort to fund a competitor (see Lyft vs Uber) or some regulations with teeth but Facebook is in a pretty solid monopoly position for now. They dictate the terms and you either agree or you lose out.

Re: Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

#109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The government has the ability to make me disappear. Facebook does not.

A liberal constitutional democracy does not have any more ability to make you disappear than Facebook does. And repressive governments already use Facebook to disappear their people: >The Facebook posts were not from everyday internet users. Instead, they were from Myanmar military personnel who turned the social network into a tool for ethnic cleansing, according to former military officials, researchers and civilia…

> A liberal constitutional democracy does not have any more ability to make you disappear than Facebook does.

oh for sure bud

"The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden 'black site'"

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-poli...

Re: Facebook Emails Could Show Zuckerberg Knew of Questionable Privacy Practices

#110
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Voting shares are real ownership.

No, they're voting shares... He owns the majority of voting shares, but they aren't worth the majority of the value of company, and therefore he doesn't "own the majority of the company".

I think the shares people buy without voting rights are not ownership, they are a weird financial instrument that should flat out be illegal. If you honestly think he doesn't own the company, despite having full uncontestable control of all it's resources, I believe you're one of the many to have been duped, friend.
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