Facebook down: Will whistleblower revelations lead to regulation?
What did the planet learn from six hours without Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram? The glitch triggered by an update on servers went on long enough to remind us how much we put our lives in the hands of a single social media behemoth. It was a chance to realise that we depend on Facebook for everything from private messages to real-time business communications and even payments. Livelihoods depend on it.
So what is Facebook? It's not a utility nor a public service. It's a profit-making private company, whose founder Mark Zuckerberg has the final say on how your data is stored and monetised. He has the final say on whether he cooperates with authoritarian regimes or blocks hate speech, on what targeted content appears on your page.
On top of the outage, Facebook has been hit by damning revelations. A whistleblower has been revealing to the media and lawmakers how Facebook is allegedly using divisive tactics and targeting young adolescents for profit. On both sides of the Atlantics the authorities might decide that enough is enough. How to rein in the company's outsized power? Should it be broken up into smaller pieces? And what about all the other tech giants, starting with Google, owner of YouTube, whose power critics call unbridled?
Speakers
- Urvashi ANEJA, Director, Digital Futures Lab
- Rayna STAMBOLIYSKA, Cybersecurity Consultant
- Sam SCHECHNER, Technology Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
- Ava Seave, Principal, Quantum Media
Watch the panel here:
Produced by Charles Wente, Sophie Pizzimenti and Imen Mellaz