Facebook has long been subject to conspiracy theories. There’s a certain inevitability about that – when something is so universal, the imagination starts ticking over. It’s everywhere, like conspiracy favourites fluoridated water, vaccinations and the number 23.
Three years ago, the internet was abuzz with the idea that Facebook was created by the CIA, presumably as part of some Farmville-related plot to take over the world. So much information about so many people stored in one place – surely something was up.
Privacy concerns on the internet are nothing new. We may have had vague fears in the past about someone finding our self-involved non-rhyming poetry on LiveJournal through sheer luck, but Facebook takes it to another level. It is now a matter of course that your workmates will spot you tagged in photos dancing pantless at a sci-fi convention, your husband will see that your relationship status is complicated, and your mother will note with some concern that you’ve joined Say What You Will About Hitler But He Got Stuff Done.
For some time, Facebook has been positioning itself as the hub of the internet, and with its most recent changes, it’s turned itself inside out and made it possible for web developers to take pieces of Facebook and integrate them into their sites. A new wave of privacy concerns have arisen around the availability of data that makes much of this possible.
New Zealand’s Privacy Commission is “wary” and has formed an international group to keep an eye on Facebook. One of their concerns – scanning someone’s face with your phone and finding out about them – has already been considered by Abstruse Goose.
But some of the most interesting thoughts come from Wired’s Ryan Singel, who argues that it’s time for an “open alternative”. Astute readers may note certain echoes between his sentiments regarding Facebook and various other battles to define and dominate the future of our relationship with technology. Food for thought, at least.
Clearly Facebook has taught us some lessons. We want easier ways to share photos, links and short updates with friends, family, co-workers and even, sometimes, the world.
But that doesn’t mean the company has earned the right to own and define our identities.
It’s time for the best of the tech community to find a way to let people control what and how they’d like to share. Facebook’s basic functions can be turned into protocols, and a whole set of interoperating software and services can flourish.
