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To Curb 'Scary Amount of Power,' New Campaign Urges FTC to Break Up Facebook

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#1

To Curb 'Scary Amount of Power,' New Campaign Urges FTC to Break Up Facebook

Jon Queally, staff writer

"It's time to make Facebook safe for democracy."

"Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have amassed a scary amount of power... It's time for us to take that power back."—Freedom From Facebook

That's the central demand behind the new Freedom From Facebook campaign, a joint project of several progressive advocacy groups who say the social media giant—which also owns and operates the popular WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram platforms—has become too powerful and must be confronted.

#2

Never been there? Don’t.

Have an account? Don’t visit and/or delete the account.

Already deleted your account? Congratulations! Move on with your life.

7 Likes
#3

Do the world a “Yuge” favor, “Break It Up.”

Those addicted to it will find time to do everything they’ve been putting off.

2 Likes
#4

alternatives that are open source and don’t sell your information for profit


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#5

YEEESS!

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#6

Wish I could say the same. Visited once during it’s first year. Never been back.

I prefer my social interaction to be Face-to-Face. Putting my face in a book is not social. It’s the exact opposite.

1 Like
#7

Goodbye Farcebook!

3 Likes
#8

When Facebook first cameout, popup adds were still a massive problem.
The first question I asked was does facebook have ads?
When the answer was yes, I did not waste my time.

This system of planned obsolescence is a system that needs to be seen through.
I wait for a standardized product confirmation before I jump in.

I stayed in touch with my friends through email.
I have never needed anything like a facebook.

that said, if there are benign engines that perform the function of outreach, I am there .

#9

Snowflakes wake up!! Here’s what the Beatles counsel:

The Beatles - Nowhere Man Lyrics

He’s a real Nowhere Man
Sitting in his Nowhere Land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Doesn’t have a point of view
Knows not where he’s going to
Isn’t he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man, please listen
You don’t know what you’re missing
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command

He’s as blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere Man, can you see me at all?

Nowhere Man, don’t worry
Take your time, don’t hurry
Leave it all 'til somebody else lends you a hand

Doesn’t have a point of view
Knows not where he’s going to
Isn’t he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man, please listen
You don’t know what you’re missing
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command

He’s a real Nowhere Man
Sitting in his Nowhere Land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Ditch the “smartphone” and learn to watch other people instead of twitter or TV. Learn the art of conversation with other people live. Try reading books and pondering their contents with others. There are better things for the FTC to do than piddle with problems that aren’t such.

2 Likes
#10

Want freedom from Facebook? Delete your Facebook account.

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#11

These big Silicon Valley monopolies should be broken up and what better place to start than Facebook. Next up should be Alphabet (Google). Standard Oil was broken up. AT&T was broken up. Microsoft came close to be broken up. While I don’t see any real need for individuals to have Facebook accounts I can see why such accounts are very useful for non-profits and political candidates. Not being involved in social media would be a big drawback. In some sense the power that Facebook has is the fault of people who are too lazy to do the right thing. Nobody should be using Faceboos’s newsfeed for their primary source of news yet millions do. This is simply asking for trouble and it didn’t take long for trouble to arrive. Of course people should not be giving up their private information so easily but they do. It is almost like people have been conditioned so long by watching game shows, reality TV shows, and other junk offered in the TV wasteland that they no longer are capable of acting like serious citizens. They just do it because everyone is doing it. Go along with the crowd. Facebook has taken full advantage of this and has become a corporate behemoth and the more data it collects the more powerful it becomes;. It is endless unless the governments steps in.

1 Like
#13

Face is now providing the government with unlimited data AND services. They are joined at the hip and work together to spy on, track, and influence our lives.
This has become much, much bigger than monopoly.
Facebook has become another surveillance agency of the government.

#14

"Face is now providing the government with unlimited data AND services.

How do you know that?

#16

And your thoughts on Disqus?

Used by Common Dreams…