It might sound like psycho babel but it's common knowledge on Facebook.
Since it’s inception in 2004, 80 percent of our undergraduate's have signed up. The Internet's always been an inherent surveillance system but what differentiates Facebook is the level of surveillance at the disposal of the average user.
The danger doesn’t end with stalkers; So long as you’re over 13, Facebook’s Terms of Service (2005) states it can “collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service, regardless of your use of the Web Site."
The Facebook pulse feature shows how Governments and corporations are collecting unprecedented amounts of information, such as who’s reading, 'Catcher & the Rye' and how many women are voting, 'Democrat'. Facebook admits to reserving the right “to share your information with third parties, including responsible companies with whom they have a relationship."
Exactly who are these third parties?
According to Vishal Agarwala (2006), some $12.7 million Facebook’s funding, came from Breyer; former chair of the National Venture Capital Association (NVAC). Their dealings include "nurturing data mining technologies." On the same board was Gilman Louie, who’s now CEO of In-Q-Tel; a venture capital firm established by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Is it any wonder why many countries; in the Middle East and Far East Asia, have Facebook banned and firewalled off? We forget that whilst our networked public space can serve the needs of a democracy, it also has the potential to devolve into a vehicle-more-sinister. Iran for instance has argued it is 'protecting' its citizens not suppressing their liberty.
Even if Facebook isn’t already selling user content to marketing firms and Governments, with all this hefty investment, someone somewhere has to profit. By its Terms of Service, it is (at the very least), permitting (in theory) the free-up of future use of data, no doubt keeping themselves attractive for potential acquisition.
Facebook’s terms of service tells us that “By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing.”
This means you're giving Facebook the rights to your photographs, poems and blogs. Creators cannot claim ownership of their own work and so-called user-generated content is an idealist's fantasy. The fact of the matter remains, your act of personal expression is not treated as such on Facebook. Clearly, there is a distinction between private information and intellectual property and private property is 'apparently' cheap. It's strikingly unfair when you consider how Facebook Band pages' need not worry because their pictures and music are protected by copyright laws.
It’s worrying how we're so naïve. Our identity is a commodity and we're giving that, and our privacy away for free and with ease. Kids trust these sites or maybe because they're removed from face-to-face contact, 'certain' users’ inhibitions ratchet down. Either way, kids are bragging about their underage drinking, marijuana smoking, debauchery and disclosing those of their friends’ antics too. Facebookers can involve non-Facebookers by simply ‘tagging’ them; creating a sort of non-consentor temporary profile, all of which may be used against them in court, since it is after all, to common knowledge, a quasi-public domain.
The level of transparency may be exciting to some but to others it can be really frightening. Recent episodes of Law and Order and NCIS show detectives tapping into Facebook equivalents to draw personality profiles, check alibis and catch their young perps.
This is not to say that beyond the feeding frenzy, Facebook can’t be a catalyst for positive action. In fact, the positives are brought to light more often than the negatives.
Starting next month, political candidates will be able to advertise on the site. Politicians have gravitated towards the site for its nine million registered users and most major candidates already have a Facebook account rallying for their nomination battle.
Some say Facebook is an excellent way to reach out to young voters. Certainly, it has become Facebook fashionable to post political affiliations and join Candidates' 'groups' but it remains to be seen how many will vote.
http://www.Facebook.com
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E6DA173CF930A15751C1A9649C8B63
http://www.albumoftheday.com/facebook
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