Facebook - an existential threat to society

The business model of Facebook is such that it maximises profit at the cost of social sanity.

 Facebook - an existential threat to society

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• US Congress quizzing Facebook: After a whistleblower - Frances Haugen - levelled serious charges against the way Facebook operates, the US Congress has questioned the company on some core issues pertaining to its policy on dangerous content, and 'profit over public safety'.
• Mark Zuckerberg the liar: In the past few years, Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founer and CEO, has denied many such charges. But more proof has accumulated about FB's treatment of content regarding vulnerable groups, designing algorithms that keep the audience pathologically engaged with the platform.
• Project Amplify: FB tried to tell the world that it is serious about positive contributions to tackle social and regulatory concerns ("Project Amplify"), but more evidence again exists about policies that help it prosper at the cost of society.
• Rabbit-holing strategy: Facebook consciously follows a rabbit-holing strategy.

1. It creates a maze-like experience for users, to fixate them on the maze and take their attention away from anything outside of it
2. If you do not use Facebook, then on a bus journey you are likely to engage with multiple stimuli - reading a newspaper, watching billboards, talk to people etc.
3. But on social media, you are driven deeper into a rabbit hole, and the only thing controlling you is the platform's agenda

• Audience-targeting: Some say that audience-targeting is not wrong, and FB is only taking care of individual needs.

1. It's a dangerous way to excuse Facebook's working style, as this is what allows FB to keep growing relentlessly, because audiences are extremely suggestible
2. Zuckerberg said that FB does not push content that deliberately makes people angry for profit - it's clearly a lie
3. FB's existence depends on traffic and engagement, so it has to do it

• Vulnerable pre-teens: India' huge population of pre-teens who access social media for peer confirmation is very vulnerable. The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) drives many users, especially youngsters. It started in a big way since 2014, and sadly, 2014-18 saw a huge jump in juvenile suicide cases too. If FB is not willing to see such evidence, one shudders to think of what else it is promoting in India.
• Project Amplify: Those who still argue that rabbit holes create personalised experiences, should understand Project Amplify, that suppresses negative news about Facebook and pushes its own positive messages (many of them artificially created). It is thus a creator and regulator of content, not just a neutral platform, and may not be eligible for any safe harbour protetions under Article 230 in USA and under India's new IT rules.
• Global danger: Facebook has billions of users, and it can technologically manage millions of rabbit holes. It can easily snoop on all of a user's internet activity, and create rabbit holes accordingly. A user may never be able to escape the rabbit-hole of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
• End of society: George Orwell made dire predictions precisely of this day. If FB is not urgently and strongly restricted by regulation, or strong competition, it can spread misinformation and radical content to an extent that socirty will break down completely.
• EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the strategy of rabbit-holing that Facebook uses, which can trap users permanently into echo-chambers. (2) What can governments do to minimise the dangers of Facebook rabbit-holing? Explain. (3) The term "Orwellian nightmare" is often used. What is it? Explain technically.

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#Facebook #Whistleblower #Hate #Anger #Violence #MarkZuckerberg

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