Why not nationalize Facebook?
IS FACEBOOK A PUBLIC ROAD OR A PRIVATE MALL? Seeing Facebook for what it is ‘As Slate’s April Glaser puts it, abandoning Facebook is a luxury because “for lots of people, leaving the service would be a self-harming act.” For many people, Facebook has become a personal, professional and economic necessity’
The Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal is fast emerging as a watershed for our increasingly digitized society. For the first time, how to regulate personal data has become a mainstream public issue, so it’s important that we understand fully all the options available to us.
In deciding what to do, the negative reactions of some tech pundits to the calls for individuals to #deletefacebook are instructive.
Somewhat counter-intuitively, they argue that it’s irresponsible and ultimately ineffective for people to #deletefacebook. On its own, this argument is overstated. The loss of even a small number of influential Facebook users (relatively wealthy, North Americans) is a signal to Facebook and governments about dissatisfaction with the status quo. That’s not a bad thing.
However, they’re also correct that a bunch of us deleting Facebook is an inadequate response to a systemic problem, so it’s worth following their logic to see where it takes us.
It turns out where it takes us is a pretty interesting place.
Seeing Facebook for what it is
As Slate’s April Glaser puts it, abandoning Facebook is a luxury because “for lots of people, leaving the service would be a self-harming act.”
For many people, Facebook has become a personal, professional and economic necessity: “Your business could have trouble reaching customers; your family might not gather on another social network; no one posts any events anywhere else.” For many users in poorer countries with bad internet connectivity, “Facebook is, in a sense, the whole internet,” Glaser writes.
These analysts call for, at a minimum, strong regulation of a problematic monopoly, but it’s not hard to push their argument even farther.
A chronically problematic organization whose demise would throw society into chaos is clearly not a normal business. Facebook, in short, has become a critical part of our infrastructure, and we should treat it as such.
It’s as if we’ve awoken to the realization that one person controls the world’s public squares. More to the point, the rules governing our public squares, including especially the collection and abuse of our personal data, are set by this one company.
While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims he’d like to “find a way to get our policies set in a way that reflects the values of the community so I am not the one making those decisions,” the truth is Facebook has been making these decisions all along.
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Dr Marina Nani
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief of Rich Woman Magazine, founder of Sovereign Magazine, author of many books, Dr Marina Nani is a social edification scientist coining a new industry, Social Edification. Passionately advocating to celebrate your human potential, she is well known for her trademark "Be Seen- Be Heard- Be You" running red carpet events and advanced courses like Blog Genius®, Book Genius®, Podcast Genius®, the cornerstones of her teaching. The constant practitioner of good news, she founded MAKE THE NEWS ( MTN) with the aim to diagnose and close the achievement gap globally. Founder of many publications, British Brands with global reach Marina believes that there is a genius ( Stardust) in each individual, regardless of past and present circumstances. "Not recognising your talent leaves society at loss. Sharing the good news makes a significant difference in your perception about yourself, your industry and your community."
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