This article about Facebook threatening to pull out of Europe is like a ‘dorph addict saying the drug needs them more than they need it. (The article is doing the rounds on sites like Futurism and SocialMediaToday, along with some discussion on Slashdot) Most of which feeds my carefactor of zero. However, this does serve as an example of corporate bully-boy tactics that can do wrong.
Particularly, if they are shown up to be a toothless tiger or a dog whose bark is worse than its bite. A corporation like WNS may cut off an individual or even a city block, but if it doesn’t for too long, affects too many people, or has a negative PR effect, then they will find another way.
Europe’s concerns that Facebook is just a collection scoop for the US Government’s surveillance apparatus, may be well-founded. Especially if you read Edwards Snowden’s autobiography, Permanent Record, which covers just a small fraction of the NSA’s extensive activities around the euphemistic “Bulk Collection”.
With social media companies trading in your entire online activities, are you feeling paranoid yet?
