2. 4 Billion people, 2.4 Billion lives, multiply that number by thousands and you’ll get the amount of data Facebook has on you.
We are being watched 24/7 and it’s not just Facebook. Writing this very blog I will leave behind me a digital footprint, and data about me is being collected, because surveillance laws allow it.
The reason for Facebook being one of the most dangerous communications companies is the fact that it owns several other popular social media platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp, which makes it “concentrated” (Khiabany, 2016). This means that whatever content we share on any of its owned platforms all feed into one main outlet.
Moreover, as a result of this mass-surveillance, it makes it easier for Facebook to identify its problematic users, and label them as activists. That’s why we might often find certain posts as “censored”. For example, after the assassination of Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, Iranians had a lot to share on Instagram, but many journalists and activists have reported account shutdowns and censorship from the application itself (Cockerell, 2020).
So, what are the possible measures to protect ourselves from Facebook?
According to NBC News (2018), here are some of the solutions to help decrease media concentration, and limit exploiting surveillance methods:
- “Breaking up Facebook”: Re-distributing ownership of the different platforms currently owned by Facebook alone
- “Data Protection as a Right”: Amending cyber laws such that the government cannot use our data without us granting permission.
In my opinion, one must also try to maintain as much privacy as possible by not sharing lots of details on social media, keeping away information, turning off location services and so on.
The harder it is for them to obtain your data, the safer you are.
Reference List
Khiabany, G. (2016). The Middle East. In Birkinbine B., Gomez R., & Wasko J. (Eds.), Global Media Giants (pp. 273 – 286). Routledge.
Cockerell I. (2020, January 10). Instagram shuts down Iranian accounts after Soleimani’s death: News agencies, human rights activists and influencers have had their accounts deactivated.
NBC News. (2018, March 27). There Is No Way To Fix Facebook. So How Do We Protect Ourselves From It? | Think | NBC News [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIbTGT-U1aQ
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