Is Facebook acting like a hostile power? Its algorithms amplify polarising and hateful content and societies around the world are being torn apart for the sake of profit, said a whistleblower in a series of revelations last night.
Facebook rocked by shock TV interview
Is Facebook acting like a hostile power? Its algorithms amplify polarising and hateful content and societies around the world are being torn apart for the sake of profit, said a whistleblower in a series of revelations last night.
"Company before country": the mantraA phrase that is often repeated, like a motto. The word comes from a Sanskrit term referring to a sacred utterance. that Facebook founder Mark ZuckerbergSince founding Facebook as a university student, Zuckerberg has become one of the top ten richest people in the world. is said to have favoured in the early days of the company demands an unusual amount of loyalty from employees.
But last night one of these employees broke the commandment in a dramatic interview on the flagship 60 Minutes show on CBS. Facebook disagrees. But she defended her decision to reveal Facebook's secrets to the world by leaking a series of documents known as "the Facebook Files".
Some of these revelations have already provoked a fierce response from politicians.
On Thursday, members of the US SenateOne of two chambers of the US Congress. The Senate includes two representatives from each of the 50 American states. lined up to attack the company for ignoring evidence that Instagram (which is owned by Facebook) harms children's and teenager's mental health. Facebook, said Senator Richard Blumenthal, "has weaponised childhood vulnerabilities against children themselves".
While the current focus of the backlash against Facebook focuses on its damaging effects on mental health, this controversy is only the tip of the iceberg.
Critics of Facebook have long accused it of wielding a dangerous amount of power without accountability, presenting a threat to democracy as well as individual wellbeing. The Facebook Files add weight to these suspicions. Here are some of the admissions they contain:
1. As many suspected, Facebook secretly relaxes the rules for its most high profile accounts. VIPs like former US president Donald TrumpAn American television personality who became US president from 2016 to 2020. He is running to be president again in 2024. and Brazilian footballer NeymarOne of the world's most celebrated and highly paid footballers. In 2019 he posted photos that seriously violated Facebook's policies, but was not banned from the platform. are permitted to post things that would result in a ban for ordinary users.
2. European political parties admit that they have changed entire policy platforms so that they are more likely to appear on Facebook's news feed.
3. Facebook has failed to stop people traffickersPeople who trade in humans - either as slaves or as migrants being transported in horrific conditions. and drug cartelsLarge crime organisations that control trade in drugs, especially powerful in Latin American countries like Mexico and Columbia. advertising and recruiting on its platforms.
These issues are treated as major public concerns because of Facebook's enormous power and influence. With 2.9 billion users, it has almost double the population of the world's largest countries, and in many ways it is more powerful than most nation states. It is forming a legislative body and even has its own currency (the cryptocurrencyA digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralised system using cryptography, rather than by a centralised authority. Diem).
If Facebook is like a country, Zuckerberg is a dictator: his power within the company is absolute. And its primary purpose is to exploit users for their valuable personal data.
This has led some critics to call on Facebook to be treated as a rogue force in world politics. "Facebook is not merely a website, or a platform, or a publisher," one journalist writes, but "also, effectively, a hostile foreign power". Former US Secretary of State Hillary ClintonAn American Democrat politician, diplomat and former First Lady. echoes this, saying that talking to Zuckerberg is like "talking to a foreign power".
This analogy has its limits. Facebook does not control territory or a military, or have the power to enforce laws. In theory at least, it is subject to the laws of the countries in which it operates. Meanwhile Facebook's own representatives point out that these revelations come from research that they conducted because they want to ensure that they are a force for good.
Is Facebook acting like a hostile power?
Facebook is no ordinary company, some say. It is a bloated monstrosity distorting global politics for its own cynical ends. "Move fast and break things," Zuckerberg famously said. Well, critics reply, he has broken quite enough: his company must be stopped, if necessary, by breaking it up.
That is going too far, say Facebook's defenders. The company might have made some bad decisions, but its main role is to bring people together and make the world more connected. The real threat to democracy is governments threatening to suppress the people to whom Facebook has given a voice.
Keywords
Mantra - A phrase that is often repeated, like a motto. The word comes from a Sanskrit term referring to a sacred utterance.
Mark Zuckerberg - Since founding Facebook as a university student, Zuckerberg has become one of the top ten richest people in the world.
US Senate - One of two chambers of the US Congress. The Senate includes two representatives from each of the 50 American states.
Donald Trump - An American television personality who became US president from 2016 to 2020. He is running to be president again in 2024.
Neymar - One of the world's most celebrated and highly paid footballers. In 2019 he posted photos that seriously violated Facebook's policies, but was not banned from the platform.
People traffickers - People who trade in humans - either as slaves or as migrants being transported in horrific conditions.
Drug cartels - Large crime organisations that control trade in drugs, especially powerful in Latin American countries like Mexico and Columbia.
Cryptocurrency - A digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralised system using cryptography, rather than by a centralised authority.
Hillary Clinton - An American Democrat politician, diplomat and former First Lady.
Facebook rocked by shock TV interview
Glossary
Mantra - A phrase that is often repeated, like a motto. The word comes from a Sanskrit term referring to a sacred utterance.
Mark Zuckerberg - Since founding Facebook as a university student, Zuckerberg has become one of the top ten richest people in the world.
US Senate - One of two chambers of the US Congress. The Senate includes two representatives from each of the 50 American states.
Donald Trump - An American television personality who became US president from 2016 to 2020. He is running to be president again in 2024.
Neymar - One of the world’s most celebrated and highly paid footballers. In 2019 he posted photos that seriously violated Facebook’s policies, but was not banned from the platform.
People traffickers - People who trade in humans – either as slaves or as migrants being transported in horrific conditions.
Drug cartels - Large crime organisations that control trade in drugs, especially powerful in Latin American countries like Mexico and Columbia.
Cryptocurrency - A digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralised system using cryptography, rather than by a centralised authority.
Hillary Clinton - An American Democrat politician, diplomat and former First Lady.