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[Victor Omega]

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On one side you can say Facebook is not at fault: They created a product, a platform, Facebook & Instagram, that its own users began to use in a way not intended (misinformation, conspiracy, violence). Facebook was and is designed for sharing with friends, keep up with loved ones, and family.

However, on the other side, where we are today, Facebook knows more about its users than any government knows its own citizens. Facebook, a private company, is not capable of securing its user from themselves solely due to the fact that doing so would cost them trillions of dollars. Their own Algorithm has found that the misintended uses of Facebook keep people on their platform, driving more ads than that of the originally intended vision Mark Zuckerburg had for the platform.

And even if you are the most purest user on Facebook & Instagram, one who uses it as intended, because 3rd of the world population is now on Facebook, simply being on the platform today justifies the algorithm. You become a cog to a bigger cog. You are a coincidence, a "fluke user" to the algorithm that sees (you as a potential) user(s) who misuse, misinform and cause violence as the main user.

In the near future, we need to fully realize and comprehend certain things: Universal base income will be a need, the Internet will be as important as water, as a public utility, and Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok will be privately-owned companies with societal and governmental level influences.....

..if we do nothing.

DELETE IT

 

[Ownage]

Just delete FB.

 

[Happosai]

 

[godhandiscen]

This topic triggers me. This shit has been clear as fuck forever, and I am glad for the whistleblower, but some friends are defending facebook because they believe their free speech is being attacked if facebook suddenly gets regulated.

Bruh, we’ll still be able to post on 4chan, this is just regulation on the money making feedback loop that pushes people into harmful states of minds. But nahhh, that’s too much apparently.

 

[DeepEnigma]

“Whistleblower”

 

[RCU005]

Remember when pop-ups got so bad that web browsers started to include built-in pop-up blockers? Why is it that ads are even worse now in every way, including pop-ups (pop-ads?) they don't care and they allow them to get even worse and more intrusive?

Answer: Money

Facebook stopped giving a shit the moment they saw their bank accounts full of money. They don't care about morals, transparency, violence, safety, ethics, racism, sexism, anything. As long as they can get the targeted ad money, they are fine with it. They now have so much information about everything, that they probably have the power to even control the government in some way.

Sadly, social media is so detrimental to humanity. The intended way of social media, went to the trash the moment these companies just wanted to make money of off it no matter what. At the beginning of Facebook, all you saw was a news feed full of your friends' posts, nowadays you only see ads and news and anything but something related to friends.

Instagram became shit the moment it was purchased by Facebook. You get an ad post every 2 or 3 posts. They removed the chronological order of posts so that you never get to see all of your friends posts, but they make sure you see 70% of posts as ads.

Tiktok made it worse, because now we have what I call 'ad-friends'. Now, even friends are just a walking ads that show and talk about some product that was given away for free to them in order to promote it.

Youtube is a disgrace! I once got 5 ads in a 1:00 video! Then, you have to endure the maker of the video spending 1 minute or more also giving ads!

The worse part of all, is that ads will never go away because they make money. It won't matter if the ads get to a point that start killing people because they will put ads even in your windshield obstructing your view, or will put ads when calling 911, but they won't care.

 

[Tschumi]

Deliberately pushing extremist content, encouraging negative politics and the like is shit in itself - as are the peons who fall for it - but knowing that Instagram ruins the lives of countless young women AND planning to release a children's Instagram is moustache twirling villain level shit.

Puke.

 

[lils]

how do you delete someone else's company?

 

[RaduN]

I remember the days when you had the choice of using fb or not...how times have changed...oh wait!

 

[Cyberpunkd]

On one side you can say Facebook is not at fault: They created a product, a platform, Facebook & Instagram, that its own users began to use in a way not intended (misinformation, conspiracy, violence). Facebook was and is designed for sharing with friends, keep up with loved ones, and family.

You are wrong on both counts.

1. Facebook algorithm intentionally amplifies content with no thought being given to its effect. So even if people started using a platform in a negative way, it’s Facebook’s fault for not doing anything despite clear proof (validated by internal Facebook metrics!) harmful content is being spread with no oversight.

2. Family and friends rubbish went out of the window 10 years ago - the company utilises network effects to monetise engagement. Sharing the photos of your nephew with your mom doesn’t make them money, everything else that you do and see on Facebook while doing that does.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

how do you delete someone else's company?

You make them hire moderation staff or force them to make changes to the algorithm - Facebook is a metrics driven company yet everyone forgets this works both ways: you can actually demand Facebook to e.g. diminish certain content by X% and show you the data proving that.

 

[lils]

You make them hire moderation staff or force them to make changes to the algorithm - Facebook is a metrics driven company yet everyone forgets this works both ways: you can actually demand Facebook to e.g. diminish certain content by X% and show you the data proving that.

nah i dont care about that i just dont want them to exist anymore

 

[GymWolf]

I can't be the only one who doesn't feel any pity for people who get brainwashed by facebook or any other social media app, it's your fault for being obsessed with that shit and giving so much importance to it, and i live by this universal principle:

Switch cyber bulling with whatever thing facebook is doing.

 

[Star-Lord]

I’m glad I deleted my Facebook and Instagram years ago. Aside from the usual family drama it creates - aunts disagreeing strongly with your opinion and throwing a wobbly - it is full of fake news and toxic trash. Cyber bullying is sadly on the rise, and it’s ruining young girls’ lives. Both FB and Insta need to be nuked.

 

[JimmyRustler]

I'm not a fan of regulation but I would have no problems whatsoever if Facebook and Instagram would start to get strictly regulated and even censored. To my defense, I already had that opinion before talk of this stuff even came up. It would be a bumpy road at first but I think overall social interaction in general would profit if these shitholes would just fade away.

 

[FunkMiller]

Facebook is a basically a social cancer at this point. All the company cares about it the acquisition of money, and data that can be sold for money. Everything else is entirely secondary, and any attempt they make to sound like they are a benevolent force for good in the world can only be believed by utter smooth brains. The sooner the tumour gets cut up, the better.

 

[HoodWinked]

i'm mixed on it because facebook is bad but the alternative which is twitter is just a literal echo chamber hate factory.

no idea how to even solve this kind of a problem, because regulation will just be another political cudgel and make it even more curated/moderated until it becomes like twitter. and moderation as always will only go in one direction.

 

[Coolwhhip]

If people want to yell at each other on social media, go for it. Waste your life hating on things that don't affect your life directly, seems fun.

The big problem is the media/news reporting all the nonsense that gets spouted on social media to get clicks. So the insane asylum that is called social media creeps into the real world.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

If people want to yell at each other on social media, go for it. Waste your life hating on things that don't affect your life directly, seems fun.

The big problem is the media/news reporting all the nonsense that gets spouted on social media to get clicks. So the insane asylum that is called social media creeps into the real world.

It's even worse - the social media / content consumption spilled into the news - now every headline is designed for clicks, it doesn't tell you anything about the content of the article, you have to click on the headline to get a sense of the news, and by then you give ad money + usage data to whoever is in charge of the platform.
Another negative development is LinkedIn becoming more like Instagram - people start to post all sort of motivational, not-directly-work-related nonsense. I am on LinkedIn every day for work and it's becoming nauseating.

Couple that with the fact you don't need 24/7 news channels and I mostly abandoned newspapers - reading weeklies or bimonthlies. Deleted Facebook and Instagram ages ago.

 

[KielCasto]

I wish people can learn that social media doesn’t have to take 90% of their day. Easiest way to beat the algorithm. But Facebook, Twitter, TikTok are here to stay, and they want money.
Social media is in our culture. I don’t think regulating Facebook will do any good. And if Facebook goes down, users will simply migrate and perform the same habits on another platform, which will eventually discover how to tweak their algorithm for more money.

 

[Clear]

The scary thing is how Covid and lockdowns have accelerated a situation where for a large number of people, online life is their day-to-day reality.

That combined with the use of algorithms to drive engagement with zero regard for the social and psychological implications and you have a civilizational disaster in the making.

Its ironic really. I don't believe that any of this started out with more sinister motives than simple profit-maximization, but ultimately what these social media companies have stumbled upon is way to throw great levers of power in terms of social and political control. The faux-"reality" of Twitter feeds and Facebook is infinitely manipulable through selective editorialization, its a propagandist's wet dream!

Which is why simply breaking up these tech-giants is no solution. All that would achieve is greater decentralization of ownership yet leaves the operant part of the equation the -AI algorithms- intact to do their work.

Furthermore government transparency is potentially even worse because that would directly centralize what rules get enforced and what speech is permitted. Increasing its political potential as as tool for social engineering.

In my view the only solution is to expose these systems to the chaotic element of the legal system. Allow citizens and groups to directly challenge the control over what view are exposed and which are buried. Hence my banging on about rescinding section 230 protections, as in my view its the only way to make these non-state actors accountable within democratic polities.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

And if Facebook goes down, users will simply migrate and perform the same habits on another platform, which will eventually discover how to tweak their algorithm for more money.

Or the market will fracture into many small players and people will get bored before one dominant player emerges again.

I also do not agree "social media is in our culture", in fact it's probably the opposite. We survived without social media before and given the shallowness of online relationships we can probably survive again.

 

[RJMacready73]

burn it all to the fucking ground and watch the human race resort to face to face communication in a polite manner, we did fine without it

 

[ZywyPL]

Meh, people eventually grew out of FB, IG etc. Once people hit 30+ you can barely see them active anymore on social networks, nobody has time for hundreds/thousands fake friends when you have a few the real ones and your own family around you, especially once people have their own kids it's over. And the younger generation is more interested in TikTok than FB already, which also will fade away as they grow up, and then a new service for new young generation will appear, and history will just keep repeating itself. Remember MySpace or Snapchat anyone? Twitter almost hit complete irrelevancy as well not that many years ago and only got a second live because it became the hivecluster for the SJW crowd. Most people I know didn't even noticed there was any shortage, they logged in, saw that nothing loaded, quit the app and moved on with their lives, and not a single tear was shed.

FB used to be "cool" but those times are long time gone, you don't see you friends activities as u used to due to all the privacy policies that are getting more and more restrictive, all the entertainment media moved to IG as their primary platform, it's really just an empty desert compared to what it was 10 years ago.

 

[JCK75]

I feel like this is just a coordinated effort between huge media corps and the DNC to control the flow of information.

 

[KielCasto]

I also do not agree "social media is in our culture", in fact it's probably the opposite. We survived without social media before and given the shallowness of online relationships we can probably survive again.

Maybe. I’m a pessimist when it comes to stuff like this, but I’m holding out just a tiny bit of hope.

 

[Termite]

People vote for this every day when they open these apps and use them. You don't have to. I certainly don't.

I don't see that any other publicly traded company in charge of a huge, free-to-use social media network would be functionally different from Facebook.

The problem, in my opinion, is that everything is click and advertising driven. That gives rise to these engagement algorithms that push ever more controversial opinions. If the service was paid and ad-free, there would be no use to driving clickbait. But people would never accept that. They'd "vote for free" every day, no matter how much it poisons our social contract.

Given that, I think the one thing the government can and should do is force Facebook to submit their content algorithms to a regulator for oversight. I just can't see much else of use.

I like to imagine the EU gets it's shit together and creates some social media company that's publicly funded like the BBC. No ads, no content-driving algorithms. I think that would be hugely beneficial. Until then we're stuck with a bunch of people whining loudly at these tech giants while opening their apps again and again every day like hypocrites.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I like to imagine the EU gets it's shit together and creates some social media company that's publicly funded like the BBC. No ads, no content-driving algorithms. I think that would be hugely beneficial.

That's actually a terrific idea.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I don't really use either Instagram or Facebook. I think they have done awful things for us as a society. That said, I take a personal approach and accept that'd I'd rather live without that bullshit and stay away from it.

I do support their right to exist and without government control or intervention. If people are fucking stupid enough to not see the impact of those websites, well, they'll learn a hard lesson. It's like the conversation of personal responsibility has completely gone out the window.

I won't let my children have/use them when they come of age either.

 

[DanteFox]

When did we as a society start treating the internet as some magical, safe garden where nothing bad ever happens? In the early days of the internet, it was pretty common that users were actively distrustful of information posted online because anyone can post online. It was also understood that there was a kind of wild west mentality where you were responsible for what you believed and for verifying information you saw, and ignoring and avoiding harmful content. When did this obvious fact become replaced by the notion that "my government mommy needs to protect me from false information and mean comments"?

 

[BigBooper]

Just deactivate your account. It's not hard.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

I like to imagine the EU gets it's shit together and creates some social media company that's publicly funded like the BBC. No ads, no content-driving algorithms. I think that would be hugely beneficial. Until then we're stuck with a bunch of people whining loudly at these tech giants while opening their apps again and again every day like hypocrites.

Ah yes, that way the social networks could be like Wikipedia and be stalwart bastions of free speech and intellectual diversity.

Oh wait

 

[Sgt.Asher]

Delete your Facebook, you'll be so much happier.

 

[Shai-Tan]

Anyone that has been on older social media like forums should know that the fault of "the algorithm" is overstated. People are attracted to content that is emotional, triggers outrage, is divisive, etc. Teenagers were worried about their appearance/body image well before Instagram, celebrity magazines, etc and would be ruminating about it regardless.

Clickbait, online punditry, echo chambers, internet cult dynamic, are all part of the same problem as optimizing engagement via timeline ("the algorithm"), clickbait (chartbeat), etc. Partisan news like MSNBC banging on about this became more extreme via a relationship between level of partisan content and viewership i.e. selling outrage/a feeling of righteousness (a monetized echo chamber). And just like Tucker Carlson or whatever, Twitter/YouTube pundits (e.g. Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Jimmy Dore, etc) follow the same process towards more extreme content via audience capture (the lunatic fringe is always more engaged and it's lucrative to tell them what they want to hear).

Thinking regulation of "the algorithm" will solve those issues is like imagining gacha games could be fixed. If there are dumbasses who can be monetized there will be incentives to produce content for them.

 

[brian0057]

That "whistleblower" is glowing so brightly, you coud see her from the moon with the naked eye.

 

[zeorhymer]

"Whistleblowers" don't go on 60 minutes. She advocates for *more* censorship. No one really talks about the "whistleblower" that Veritas interviewed that brought some receipts. But whatever. Do what you will.

 

[Termite]

Ah yes, that way the social networks could be like Wikipedia and be stalwart bastions of free speech and intellectual diversity.

Oh wait

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here but wikipedia is by far the best original thing the internet has ever produced.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here but wikipedia is by far the best original thing the internet has ever produced.

I mean yeah it's insanely helpful and I use it every day probably, but if you think some sort of independent non-profit entity controlling a social network will somehow make it a utopia I just don't see it. For how helpful Wikipedia is it is also very biased and selective in content and moderation, which are two of the big problems that social media currently have. They may not come up with an algorithm to pump you extreme content into a negative feedback loop, but that doesn't mean there aren't many other ways they can influence and regulate content and discussion.

That said, removing ads and sponsored content from Facebook would singlehandedly dramatically improve it, so maybe it would be worth it just for that.

 

[manfestival]

This just seems like a ploy to assert more government control. They gotta justify it somehow and I guess this "whistleblower" is just one of the tools in their shed.

 

[StormCell]

I can't be the only one who doesn't feel any pity for people who get brainwashed by facebook or any other social media app, it's your fault for being obsessed with that shit and giving so much importance to it, and i live by this universal principle:

Switch cyber bulling with whatever thing facebook is doing.

Personally, I have learned that the true key to rising above any potential bullying is to just never let anyone get too close to you unless they prove their value to you in some way. I've got a few friends, and even they don't get too close to me. I don't know what it is about this so-called adult life, but it's like we got out of school and forgot how to just be chill. It all seems to lead to drama sooner or later.

I took my FB and began to friend thousands of people who share an interest in the hobby and sport I compete in. Now all those people who used to think of me as that dude they know from some place probably pull up my FB and think "Daaaayamn, when did this guy get around so much??? He gonna hit the friend cap soon." And look at all the products he's pimping on his news feed...

Yeah, I took all my social media accounts and decided to diversify my income streams. I got sponsored. Now I'ma try and sell you this neat overpriced rod and reel. No, really, you will even feel the tiniest minnow tick your lure or line from 150 yards out. I promise! Oh, and did I mention it's super light?? They use the same material for constructing rods for use on satellite and the ISS. NASA patented rod blank construction. It's all the rage now... $399.99 but click my link to get $20 off and send me a little referral fee.

 

[GymWolf]

Personally, I have learned that the true key to rising above any potential bullying is to just never let anyone get too close to you unless they prove their value to you in some way. I've got a few friends, and even they don't get too close to me. I don't know what it is about this so-called adult life, but it's like we got out of school and forgot how to just be chill. It all seems to lead to drama sooner or later.

I took my FB and began to friend thousands of people who share an interest in the hobby and sport I compete in. Now all those people who used to think of me as that dude they know from some place probably pull up my FB and think "Daaaayamn, when did this guy get around so much??? He gonna hit the friend cap soon." And look at all the products he's pimping on his news feed...

Yeah, I took all my social media accounts and decided to diversify my income streams. I got sponsored. Now I'ma try and sell you this neat overpriced rod and reel. No, really, you will even feel the tiniest minnow tick your lure or line from 150 yards out. I promise! Oh, and did I mention it's super light?? They use the same material for constructing rods for use on satellite and the ISS. NASA patented rod blank construction. It's all the rage now... $399.99 but click my link to get $20 off and send me a little referral fee.

That's what ganja was created for by mother nature.

But i was more talking about any form of brain washing\bullying online where you only really need to fucking stop reading bullshits to get better...

 

[Mossybrew]

Meh, I don't have any strong feelings about Facebook. My feed is highly curated, no news or politics show up at all. Chopped my friends list years ago, it's nine people right now, close friends and family that I actually care about, and none of them post dumb shit, they might post something once a week if that. Sure there's ads but at this point they are usually things I might want, I've found some cool t-shirts and stuff just from FB ads, so I don't mind. Mix in stuff like a few brands I like, like Playstation videos etc. and a local photography group that just posts cool pictures from the local area, and my FB feed is very chill, I check it maybe once or twice a day if I'm bored and that's about it, no big deal.

 

[Termite]

I mean yeah it's insanely helpful and I use it every day probably, but if you think some sort of independent non-profit entity controlling a social network will somehow make it a utopia I just don't see it. For how helpful Wikipedia is it is also very biased and selective in content and moderation, which are two of the big problems that social media currently have. They may not come up with an algorithm to pump you extreme content into a negative feedback loop, but that doesn't mean there aren't many other ways they can influence and regulate content and discussion.

That said, removing ads and sponsored content from Facebook would singlehandedly dramatically improve it, so maybe it would be worth it just for that.

The social network would be state-supported but not state run, but I certainly share your concerns that it would be a free speech nightmare. So we're on the same page there.

But you've basically summed up my entire point with your last sentence there. I think it WOULD be worth it just for that.

It's also a totally separate discussion, but as a euro I worry hugely about how fucking reliant we are on the rest of the world for anything tech-related. We have to bring some of those skills home.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

3.35: This blonde blue eyed chick has a little bit of belly. I like me some fat around the waist

 

[Torrent of Pork]

I don't want Facebook regulated, I want it eradicated, and take every single social media platform with it.

 

[VN1X]

Oh it's that maskless predator lady I've heard so much about!

(also she ain't no whistleblower lol)

 

[Raven117]

Delete all social media.

Unless you make your living on social media, the value proposition just isn't there anymore. Keeping up with people at the expense of your sanity...at the expense of all of our sanity and subject to manipulation. Want to keep up with friends and family? Just give them a call...Text them.

And you know...deep down....its not about "keeping up with friends" that you haven't seen in years and years....Its about being nosy about what they are doing and comparing your life to theirs. Like a perpetual high school reunion.

Just stop. You will be fine. The sun will shine brighter.

 

[MrS]

“Whistleblower”

Looks like she's got a Deep Throat

 

[Virt McPolygon]

I don't really use either Instagram or Facebook. I think they have done awful things for us as a society. That said, I take a personal approach and accept that'd I'd rather live without that bullshit and stay away from it.

I do support their right to exist and without government control or intervention. If people are fucking stupid enough to not see the impact of those websites, well, they'll learn a hard lesson. It's like the conversation of personal responsibility has completely gone out the window.

I won't let my children have/use them when they come of age either.

Is this something you can really stop or control? Social media accounts can be easily created and accessed on any device. Whether it's at home, work, school, or at a library. You should be more concerned about them being scammed or harassed once they start using those platforms.

 

[theclaw135]

Neither censoring nor letting free speech run amok are without consequence. You can't have life both ways! People will complain how much bad stuff is on social media, yet cry censorship if it's taken down.