1984 witnesses the birth of Mark Zuckerberg. It affects more than 2.7 billion Facebook users by 2020. Her net worth exceeds $ 54 billion. A third of the planet uses Facebook, a company with only 30,000 employees.
Facebook fulfills user requests, does not need it. Its popularity amazes Corporate America. Using artificial intelligence (AI) for platform surveillance commodifies user engagement. AI converts each user’s behavior into approximately 29,000 prediction criteria. Selling user profiles feeds Facebook. Getting information from Facebook pages allows shadow profiles to be created for those who are not even on the platform.
User data derived from Facebook empower advertisers. These advertisers develop targeted ads for small groups of up to 20. Not only Corporate America but also foreign intelligence agencies benefit from this approach. Today, the flood of conspiracy theories, misinformation, and fake news is radicalizing users.
Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg call Facebook a public utility. However, regulation and profit margins set by government oversight define public service behavior. Roger McNamee, author of “Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe,” emphasizes Facebook’s past performance as everything but a public service. “They have harnessed our confidence by using advanced techniques to capture the weaknesses of human psychology, collect and use private data, and create business models that protect users from harm.”
The following three actions are required to tackle the Facebook disaster. First, consider Facebook’s exploitation of users. Second, demand that Facebook be accountable for being complicit in the Capitol Hill uprising. Third, advocate for congressional social media regulation to reduce pervasive digital dystopia.