We didn’t need former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden to tell us the obvious. Yet, he did.
On Saturday, Snowden criticized Facebook after the social media platform suspended Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm that worked for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
The day before, Facebook came down hard on Cambridge Analytica, accusing them of harvesting the private data of more than 50 million unsuspecting users.
On another social media platform, Twitter, Snowden accused Facebook of masquerading as a “social media” company, when, in reality, they’re just in the business of surveillance.
Businesses that make money by collecting and selling detailed records of private lives were once plainly described as “surveillance companies.” Their rebranding as “social media” is the most successful deception since the Department of War became the Department of Defense.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) March 17, 2018
Facebook makes their money by exploiting and selling intimate details about the private lives of millions, far beyond the scant details you voluntarily post. They are not victims. They are accomplices. https://t.co/mRkRKxsBcw
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) March 17, 2018
Christopher Wylie, one of the co-founders of Cambridge Analytica who left in 2014, blew the whistle on both Facebook and his former firm for harvesting all of that private information.
“Rules don’t matter for them,” Wylie told the New York Times. “For them, this is a war, and it’s all fair.”
He continued. “They want to fight a culture war in America. Cambridge Analytica was supposed to be the arsenal of weapons to fight that culture war.”
After that report, Facebook suspended Wylie from using their platform.
Suspended by @facebook. For blowing the whistle. On something they have known privately for 2 years. pic.twitter.com/iSu6VwqUdG
— Christopher Wylie (@chrisinsilico) March 18, 2018
Between Wylie’s and Snowden’s criticism of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, it should be of no surprise to any of us that Facebook has gotten too big for its britches. It was only in 2004 when Facebook was introduced as a tool to connect and interact with classmates on college campuses. Since then, it has expanded exponentially to the point that it’s ingrained in our culture and society. And platforms like Facebook and Twitter have created a system of dependency in which it’s nearly impossible for engaged users to quit.
The fact that these social media websites have also been collecting and harvesting data should raise a red flag for every user around the world. No company should hold that much private information. And if that information were to get into more malicious and nefarious hands than Cambridge Analytica – which arguably had done enough damage – then we’re looking at a full-blown cybersecurity crisis.
If you have to keep Facebook to maintain contact with friends and family, then use it sparingly and post less often. But, if you can, delete your account altogether. It’s no longer worth it.
