Since Facebook is turning 15, I thought that I would do a “celebration” post.
Listen, I use Facebook as much as the next person.
I usually swipe through when I am bored, and I love being connected to my friends. The birthday wishes every year give me that warm and fuzzy feeling.
I love being able to find inspiring quotes and articles and reading the fun posts my friends make.
There is so much to like about Facebook, but here’s the thing: There are a lot of major problems with Facebook.
One of the major issues is privacy. There have been multiple issues with the selling of users’ private information.
According to The Atlantic, “Facebook information used to be public only within your friends’ circle. Then that public network expanded to include anybody at your school or company. Then it expanded to include your geographical network. Then the circle grew to include the entire Internet. Finally, Facebook designed a new protocol to share Facebook information with sites like Yelp and Pandora to personalize our browsing experience on the Web.”
In addition to the giving away of users’ information, there have been multiple security breaches.
In September, The New York Times said that an attack on Facebook’s computer network “exposed the personal information of nearly 50 million users. The breach, which was discovered this week, was the largest in the company’s 14-year history. The attackers exploited a feature in Facebook’s code to gain access to user accounts and potentially take control of them.”
Several times, I have received messages from friends, only to get a text from them telling me not to click on the link.
The fact that my personal information is so easily accessed horrifies me.
If your website is geared toward letting your users share their information privately, I think that you should not be so easily hacked.
I also think that if you are the CEO of Facebook, you should never so easily sell away your users’ information.
On top of these privacy issues, Facebook has caused violence. There were reports that Facebook fueled violence in Sri Lanka, and then did nothing to stop it.
In addition to this, Facebook sold $100,000 in ads to fake Russian accounts during the presidential election.
These issues only seem to scratch the surface of the many terrible actions that Facebook has taken.
It may be a fun site to stay connected with friends and share your memories and successes in life, but the issues with Facebook need to be fixed.
I am sick of seeing exposés about all the horrible things that Facebook has caused or has done.
So let’s “celebrate” Facebook by working to fix the problems and create a healthy and safe environment for users.
Reported by Melanie Frasca, Vanguard Reporter
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