Creepy Facebook : Mark Zuckerberg, in a very Nietzsche meets Orwell sort of way

When Facebook Gets Creepy - Slideshow from PCMag.com

 

Facebook, while informational and entertaining, can also be creepy. I say this having gotten multiple friend requests from someone whose friend list is comprised solely of people named “Chandra.” But aside from the sometimes borderline-disturbing behavior of Facebook users, the site itself has been accused of violating personal boundaries.

Of course, Facebook is an opt-in social network, and people should be aware of what they’re getting themselves into before joining. But Facebook’s frequent policy changes and shifting site alliances can lead to user confusion, resulting in users sharing more information than they realize.

Facebook users have taken to online diatribes and lawsuits to try to persuade the company to change its ways, but it’s unlikely they’ll succeed. There’s been a steady increase in the company sharing and monetizing user data over the course of its history. This attitude is endemic to Facebook because it comes directly from its founder and CEO.

Mark Zuckerberg, in a very Nietzsche meets Orwell sort of way, declared the death of privacy in an interview with TechCrunch when he said: “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that has evolved over time.” There’s a whiff of hypocrisy there. Just a few months ago, Facebook was caught hiring PR firm Burson-Marsteller to smear Google’s forays into the social realm by questioning its privacy policies. And Zuckerberg signed up for Google+ but has tightened up his privacy settings on that social network to near-invisibility.

Zuckerberg has himself been stalked through Facebook. In February of this year, he filed a restraining order against Pradeep Manukonda, who also targeted Zuckerberg’s girlfriend and sister, in part by sending them all Facebook messages. After the restraining order was issued, Manukonda told TMZ: “I’ll respect his privacy.”

As a Facebook user, you may not even realize what you’re sharing and with whom. To see whose radar you might be showing up on thanks to your Facebook profile, read our story.