Privacy concerns over the Facebook Chat App is at an all time high. Increasingly more and more people are voicing their concern and even their anger at the permissions needed from the user in order to use the App.
Although the App was released some time ago, it wasn’t until Facebook took away end user choice and made the App mandatory that the concerns began to materialize and spread like wildfire on social media and blogs alike.
The permissions of the App have never changed. It has always required autonomous access without user confirmation to the device’s microphone and camera. The hysteria currently can only be attributed to the numerous Social Media posts and blogs informing people who were otherwise uninformed. Also as the masses become more tech savvy where Apps and Smart Phones are concerned, what was once ignored (permissions) are no longer being so and end users are taking a keener interest in what an App requires before they download it onto their devices.
The saying there is no such thing as a free lunch is not immune to the fluid world that is App Developing. Someone has to pay. Someone foots the bill and as much as we all love a free lunch we must accept that someone somewhere has to pick up the tab in the case of Apps, the price to be paid is allowing access to devices we once cherished as our own private tech domain because our private data needs to be monetized so that the free lunch can be paid somewhere along the line.
When one looks at this logically, people should not worry about the problem of a private company prying because NSA is looking after the issue. Recently a former director of the NSA disclosed the fact that agency (according to the law) can gain access to a wealth of data from companies but it has no power to take data of US citizens. The clever way to get access to the data of people is to get it from companies. Bearing this in mind, becoming hysterical about Facebook should be the least of your concern.
Let us not forget Snowden who revealed how the NSA workers often stumble upon people’s nude photos which they often pass around to others in the office. How do they get hold of your private pictures? ring a bell?
James Buchal (candidate for Congress in Oregon) has an excellent powerpoint presentationthat outlines the privacy invasions of the NSA. Here are a few slides:
Now people can understand why Facebook is spending so much money and offering everything for free. Some experts claim that Facebook is earning through advertising but the amount the company receives from government agencies is significantly higher than the amount that Facebook earns through advertising. Conclusively, the people may not know that NSA already has access to their data and chats. Thus, logic suggests that if all the data is already disclosed then there is no need to worry about any other app doing the same.
The new Facebook chat app has become an inseparable part of people’s life. Clearly, all of the fuss is useless. Can they beat giant corporations? Can they win against NSA or government agencies? If this is a lose-lose situation then they should not worry about the Facebook chat app. It is here to stay and people are still left with a choice; give up on privacy or stop using Facebook. Which is more important to you Facebook or Privacy?
In addition, people happily give away valuable information and talk about their private lives, post pictures of their children and even nudes of themselves. They do all this voluntarily and without concern but now they take a aggressive stance regarding privacy because Facebook is forcefully retrieving their data? Facebook probably retrieves less data than people have already put out there freely and without concern.
Is it that people are concerned about privacy or simply jumping on a band wagon or even succumbing to the Anti Big Corporation movement? Either way people STILL have a choice quit complaining or quit Facebook. It’s about priority. Which is yours? Privacy or the ability to use Facebook?
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