For much of the world, Facebook is the internet. In Kenya, Facebook’s popularity has been growing at a rate of one million users annually and there is every reason for this. It is a convenient way to connect with friends, family, business associates or even track an ex-lover’s life.
With its endless feed that goes on as long as you scroll, you can keep tabs of almost anyone you want without seeking their permission. A background check on a potential date, customer, employee, a car you want to buy or a holiday destination is now possible courtesy of the networking site turned-global-phenomenon.
Additionally, having a Facebook account eliminates the need to key in your details every time you download an App or want to use a web-based application. In fact if we think of the internet as a global system of communication, then Facebook is the super power.
This notwithstanding the fact that Google and YouTube rank higher on website measurement site Alexa.
However, the very data that makes the magic happen every time you log in to Facebook has power. Unknown to many, Facebook does not only track what you do on its platform but also keeps tabs on everything you do on other sites.
That is how Facebook knows you are shopping for a piece of land in Kitengela, a smart phone or the latest gossip from Old Trafford then plasters your screen with endless advertisements. Such monumental power however comes with great responsibility because in the new world, information is power.
In the wake of revelations that data firm Cambridge Analytica used information gathered from Facebook users to influence elections in the US and Kenya, it is time we talked about users’ privacy.
It is sickening that it took the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg four days to give a flimsy excuse on what was a violation of privacy of over 1.5 billion users.
“People knowingly provided their information, no systems were infiltrated, and no passwords or sensitive pieces of information were stolen or hacked,” he said.
Although he mentioned a raft of changes they intend to implement to prevent what Cambridge Analytica did from happening again, what was loud and clear is that Facebook is not willing to take the blame.
This is the same company that three years ago announced it had manipulated the newsfeeds of users as part of an experiment to see how emotions can be spread on social media.
The fact is we are trapped in a monster that cannot be controlled even by its owner. Data mining aside, how many times you have been trolled on Facebook and raised a complaint but the only response is a generic
“We are working on this” but nothing happens. The reason why Facebook survives is based on ‘Likes’ and to get more ‘Likes’ you must try to be funny, smart or creative. In short, most of what you post on Facebook is not the real you.
This is the fantasy world the social site has created and we are happily tagging along. But do you think Facebook cares about us? We are not its primary customers. Its owners are more interested in the advertisers. I don’t have a problem with that either but when Facebook looks the other way when our data is used by corporations and political parties to manipulate us, there is a problem.
Some countries have opened investigations in to the Cambridge Analytica saga but I can bet my salary Kenya won’t. But we can do something. Maybe we should leave Facebook. Problem is Facebook has created a deep addiction that would maybe require months in rehabilitation. But think about this.
Before Facebook, there was MySpace and before Gmail became popular there was Yahoo. A good alternative is Google+ which offers users ways on how to customise who sees what in their newsfeeds. But change is hard and leaving Facebook is not a walk in the park.
My New Year’s resolution for the last two years has been leaving Facebook because I expose myself a lot. My leaving has however never lasted more than a day and Facebook knows there are millions like me out there, so it doesn’t care.
- The writer is an investigations reporter for The Standard. vachuka@standardmedia.co.ke
