51–60 of 418 posts
I made a Facebook web scraper which opens 20 headless browsers. You provide a list of unlimited usernames & proxies (you can buy them at https://buyaccs.com/en/ ). It will scrape every ounce of public information available. I acquired a few million users worth. The data is too easy to get.
1. I barely add stuff on it 2. 99% of my news feed is irrelevant and I really don't care (there maybe 1 post/day from a friend that is interesting to me) 3. Starting to be more and more concerned about all this data
But I'm scared for multiple reasons:
1. connections needed from a lot of friends, family etc. that I would not keep contact with otherwise 2. It does a great job at keeping my contact list updated (no later than yesterday I searched for friends/coworker to make sure I don't forget anyone on my farewell email) 3. Messenger. I use it a lot (almost as much as iMessage) and again, a lot of people I talk to on facebook I don't have their info for telegram/whatsapp/etc.
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Fascinating to watch - it shows how much power media has to put a topic on the global agenda if it fits into their preferred narrative.
Facebook's current problem is that they've now created a lot of enemies and they're running short on friends. This isn't quite as bad as it sounds, because creating enemies when you reach this scale is inevitable, so the mere fact that Facebook isn't everybody bestest bud ever is not intrinsically a problem. However, one of the fundamental ways to defend yourself when you reach this scale is to act with a certain amo…
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Let me guess. It’s a globalist media conspiracy to take down Trump?
No but in the grand scheme of things, things like the Yemen Civil War that has been ongoing since 2015 has gotten less attention in our media than a single Donald Trump tweet. For lack of a better word: sad!
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Just so the quote [2004] isn't out of context: Zuckerberg: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS [Friend]: What? How'd you manage that one? Zuckerberg: People just submitted it. Zuckerberg: I don't know why. Zuckerberg: They "trust me" Zuckerberg: Dumb fucks
Got the original screenshot perhaps?
tell me again why you think the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a bad idea?
In the end, it’s about using data as it’s intended and nothing more.
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Fascinating to watch - it shows how much power media has to put a topic on the global agenda if it fits into their preferred narrative.
Let me guess. It’s a globalist media conspiracy to take down Trump?
Facebook has been aggressively monetizing user data for years. They are just one player in an entire industry built around this business model.
The existence of this industry is most obvious to technically literate, who you can generally identify by their use of strong ad blockers and password managers. But it’s been reported on before [0]. Online privacy is not a new concern... just look at the “Facebook is listening to me” meme.
So what I want to know is: why now? Why Cambridge Analytica? Why Facebook?
Here’s my best take so far.
1) Facebook’s user base is so big that it’s a relevant political constituency, and thus democratic governments have a reason to care.
2) Facebook creates an expectation of privacy and illusion of control that doesn’t exist with public-first platforms like Twitter
3) Cambridge Analytica is a scummy company in many respects, not just their work with Facebook data. They got lots of Facebook data from a third party who probably wasn’t authorized to sell it to them. This makes them a good candidate for regulators to make an example of.
4) Cambridge Analytica is closely tied to the Trump and Brexit campaigns, both of which are regarded as “dangerous perversions of democracy using lies to exploit vulnerable people” by exactly the kinds of political and media organizations that are driving this story.
Overall, I think this is a “Pigs get fat, Hogs get slaughtered” situation. The industry’s toxic practices are finally causing enough damage that institutions responsible for protecting the public (government, real media) are responding.
Bravo, I say.
[0] WaPo has an article explaining this on the front page today https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/facebooks-ru...
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Let me guess. It’s a globalist media conspiracy to take down Trump?
Not at all. Just media's desperate hunger for any story that paints Trump in a bad light. The recent video evidence on Cambridge Analytica shows that they were at least shady in their operations. But their approach to targeting voters and scraping Facebook userdata would have been described as brilliant data wizzardry if it were done for the other side.
Actually, as of posting, the "Apple/Google/Microsoft are just as bad" version has not yet put in an appearance.
What's utterly horrifying about this whole thing is how the media is acting as if this is some sort of surprise. Like what did you think was happening at a company collecting data about billions of people? Especially at a company that has a CEO who is famous for calling its own users dumb fu * * s? A company that experimented on at risk teens. Like come on. --edit--- Or lordy, didn't expect this comment to blow up th…
As a matter of fact, this is news and surprising for most users of Facebook even if it's not for you. By saying that no one should be surprised, are you not taking the same condescending attitude that you're pointing out in Zuckerberg?
