Let me ask you a few questions,

– How would you feel if someone is peeking at you while you are taking a shower?

– How would you feel if your Kid installed a hidden camera in your bedroom without your concern?

– How would you feel if your boyfriend / girlfriend publicly displays your private messages or webcam chat?

It feels awful, isn’t it? Then, why are you letting the corporations to do it. Why are you letting Facebook make you a fool in the name of Privacy Policies?

Privacy is a birthright of every human being. No one can deny the fact or claim that he/she has the right to intrude on someone else’s privacy. When it comes to the cyber world, we hold the same right.



Facebook’s Claim

Facebook’s current legal fight with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office is very interesting. The DA’s office requested to collect vast amounts of data on 381 users as part of a disability fraud investigation. Facebook denied the request objecting that the warrants are too wide in scope. Facebook also objects to the fact that it wasn’t allowed to tell users about the search, not even those who had done nothing wrong.



Judgement and Concerns

Judges so far seem unwilling to grant Facebook the right to reject search warrants. Considering this fact, everyone is worried about what will happen if government’s bulk data collection goes unchecked (Remember NSA, anyone?) More than that, people are worried IF Facebook is the best judge of what’s OK to hand over to investigators and what is not?

Here’s Why Facebook’s Privacy Battle is Phony

No matter how many spying tactics Facebook has already enforced on its users, including graph search, shadow profiles and annual data report (In which Facebook made user names, profile pictures and other personal information publicly available), it still thrived among internet users. Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg said that:

“People had started to care less and less about privacy, that social norm is just something that has evolved over time”.

Here’s a video of an interview by RT with T-Producer Andrew Blake discussing the shadow Profiles. See it for yourself and decide if Facebook really cares for your Privacy.

Facebook’s Double Standards On ‘Free Speech’

Though, it is not directly related to prove our point regarding Facebook’s Phony Privacy battle but it definitely will support the opinion we have regarding Facebook’s double standards. In the wake of the recent Paris incident, Mark Zuckerberg vowed not to bow down to extremists’ demands to censor content on Facebook. He said that:

“We are committed to building a service where you can speak freely without fear of violence.”

And, guess what happened the very next moment? Facebook removed a very decent and completely logical comment posted by a Pakistani Actor, Hamza Ali Abbasi.

Now, how would you define a dual face corporation fighting for the rights of its users? It is just like Satan claiming to be purified after being baptized.

Thanks to Facebook, we’re always under surveillance. Honestly speaking, we have volunteered to be watched and spied by big corporations and government. The more the software, apps and social sites become an essential part of our life, the more we have become publicly accessible.



Final Opinion

Concluding on this point, we feel that Facebook’s privacy battle is completely phony. It seems like Facebook is trying to title itself as a protector of users’ privacy that it doesn’t offer at all in reality.

The worst part is we have lost control over our private data. Even after knowing the fact that Facebook and the dating site OKCupid used our information to conduct secret user experiments, we are still loving these services and letting them steal our personal data.

On the other hand, the never-ending incidents of security breaches reinforce the idea that there’s no such thing called ‘Online Privacy’. If we look back in 2014, there is much to take lesson from.

Snapchat hack proved that posted pictures never go away even after disappearing. iCloud fappening incident proved that photo’s on your phone aren’t really private. And, Sony Films hack proved that confidential documents aren’t really safe and anyone can read them.

Given our lax nature about our own privacy, it’s not surprising that corporations are taking us for a ride when it comes to privacy policies.