Whistleblower Wylie: Facebook can 'delete you from the internet'

https://www.cnet.com/news/cambridge-analytica-whistleblower-facebook-can-delete-you-from-the-internet/ ^ | 03/20/18 | Richard Nieva

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Chris Wylie, the whistleblower who brought to light Facebook's latest controversy, is having a hard time since the social network suspended his Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Over the weekend, the 28-year-old data scientist provided whistleblower accounts to The New York Times and the UK's Guardian and Observer newspapers about Cambridge Analytica, a consultancy he worked for that was hired by the Trump campaign. The firm allegedly harvested data from more than 50 million Facebook accounts without users' permission.

After he turned whistleblower, he was abruptly booted from Facebook's services.

"This is the power Facebook has," Wylie said Tuesday during an onstage interview at the Front Club in London. "They can delete you from the internet."

Facebook is so ingrained in our modern online experience, Wylie said, that his suspension from the social network has had a ripple effect.

"I know this sounds ridiculous," he said. "I can't use Tinder now, for example -- because you have to validate yourself with... Facebook." (One of the most popular ways to log in to Tinder is to link it to your Facebook account, however it's now possible to sign in using your phone number.)

The issue sounds trivial, but it does underscore how powerful and ubiquitous Facebook has become. It's a platform for 2 billion people to connect and chat with family and friends.

Facebook, for its part, said Wylie was suspended because he violated the company's terms of service.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Gotta make it a public utility, or at least declare it a place of public accommodation

[proust]

“They can delete you from the internet.”

I want this so badly.

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[libertylover]

Except FreeRepublic.

[Inyo-Mono]

I’m glad I don’t use Facebook, just FR.

[gaijin]

Wylie, Facebook whistleblower

[ctdonath2]

No.

Facebook is a private entity, which others may use or compete with.
Zuck & co may set & enforce their rules on their servers as they see fit.

Remember Sears? Kodak? CompuServe? AOL? etc?
Every “deeply concerning” unstoppable world-defining juggernaut of the past has ... passed.

I’ve seen many social media sites come & go over the decades, from small to world-shaping. They all have a definite life cycle.
And Facebook is showing signs of their looming demise. Signal-to-noise ratio is falling, nobody wants to go there because everyone is there, there’s huge pent-up demand for a mass exodus to the next big thing.

Ditto Twitter.

They’re not “public utilities”. The government is not giving them special treatment/privileges (like physical utility right-of-ways). There are any number of alternatives available. Yes, it will be annoying to disconnect from FB because of the social connections you’ve made - so just start abandoning it, keeping just enough for what you find necessary.

They’re not “public accommodations”. Nobody is practically compelled to be there, and there is no need for them to accommodate everyone. Don’t like their rules? Leave.

I’ve resisted the “log in with Facebook” found everywhere. I’m actually part of a project to provide “single sign on” for apps & sites via other means. You don’t have to let Facebook be your doorman, rendering you impotent if service is severed.

Just leave Facebook if you’re so inclined. It’s not “too big to fail”. It’s not an irreplaceable public service.

[Mariner]

I’m pretty sure they cannot delete us from Free Republic:)

That said, it IS time to bust these monopolies.

1. Transport
2. Directory/Search
3. Content

Those would be the minimum separations. And no company should be able to own more than one service in any category, or ownership in more than one category.

Examples: Google Search could not also own Youtube and GMail. And they could not also expand into laying fiber and wireless too.

Facebook would be a completely standalone service. No news, no directory, no Instagram...nothing else.

Spin them off. Stridently monitor compliance with BIG, BIG cash rewards for whistle blowers...paid by fines extracted from the monopoly.

We have great experience as a nation with this, and it’s always worked for the better.

1. Standard Oil
2. Ma Bell

[Mariner]

See my #8.

[WMarshal]

Facebook is evil.

That being said, if I don’t “exist” on the Internet do I have to pay taxes?

[Mariner]

Add equipment as a fourth category.

[rockrr]

Facebook, for its part, said Wylie was suspended because he violated the company's terms of service.

That's their excuse for every screw-over they commit.

[Republican Wildcat]

YouTube was much better before Google bought it out. Everything featured on the front page is leftist propaganda now.

[ctdonath2]

They’re not monopolies.

THEY’RE NOT MONOPOLIES.

Transport? I work for a big “transport” company. They’re very careful to not be a monopoly, having had a rather high-profile run-in with the issue. Google is getting out of the fiber business (only used it to scare other transport companies into improving). SpaceX literally launched the test for a redefining transport competitor a few days ago. There’s lots of competition, and lots of change to come.

Directory/search? You have plenty of options. Maybe not as good as Google, but not because Google has some unfair advantage. Basic search capability has actually become simple enough to implement that it’s a senior programing project.

Content? Gobs of options. People treat FB & Twitter like they’re something special, but they’re not. Someone could easily set up a Twitter competitor, without the censorship.

THEY’RE NOT MONOPOLIES. There’s no special treatment, no domineering access to limited resources.

And breaking up Ma Bell was, in retrospect, stupid.

[Mariner]

Just be glad we have “Stranger Things” on Netflix:)

I have to hand it to those guys, if you have an idea and some production money, they’ll put it on the air.

A lot of shows suck and bomb.

Then every once in a while, along comes a jewel.

[SERKIT]

I think the next tech wave may be services that assist with ‘net anonymity’.

[al_c]

Delete from the internet? Is that a bad thing?

[Mariner]

“And breaking up Ma Bell was, in retrospect, stupid.”

If it wasn’t for the break-up of Ma Bell, you’d be accessing Free Republic via x.25...on Bell Terminals.

I’ve been in the network business for decades and have seen both sides of it.

On what basis do you assert that break-up was dumb?

2. They become monopolies when they cross categories...or own everything significant in a particular category.

Google owning end devices, OS, search, email, new, youtube etc. is a monopoly by every legal definition. Especially when they are the dominant player in more than one category.

In your case, Cisco smartly avoided monopoly status by NOT buying everything that routed or switched and not expanding into content, transport etc.

[Drew68]

The firm allegedly harvested data from more than 50 million Facebook accounts without users' permission.

In violation of what exactly?

Didn't Barack Obama's campaign do the exact same thing in 2012?

Is it only an outrage because Trump did this and went on to win?

[nopardons]

Great post and spot on!