[liberationtech] Revealed: Seven years later, how Facebook shuts down free speech in Egypt | Middle East Eye

[Cristina]

On 28/01/18 08:35, aryt alasti wrote:
> True though all of that is, if tens of thousands of people are relying
> on Facebook for their connectivity to activism and dissident
> viewpoints, then pressure should be put on Facebook to cease with its
> blatantly suppressive practices.
>
>                                                                                     
> Aryt

This never worked and will never work, as said Thomas Delrue here:

>
>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
>
>
> On Jan 28, 2018 4:59 AM, "Thomas Delrue" <thomas at epistulae.net
> <mailto:thomas at epistulae.net>> wrote:
>
>
>     Facebook isn't there to 'connect us', Google isn't there to 'help you
>     find things on the Internet'; they (and others) are there to sell you
>     ads, extract revenue from you and to keep you docile so you can be
>     shown
>     more ads and so that more revenue can be extracted from you. If that
>     means that anything that is bad for business is swept under the rug,
>     removed, blocked... if that means cozying up to the current Power
>     of the
>     Day that provides them with access to this "set of eyeballs" but has a
>     tendency to crush dissent... well so be it.
>
>

This is grossly demonstrated in the negotiations conducted by Facebook
with the Israeli government to censor the Palestinians [0], and the
meetings that the two companies had with China and other countries
without democracy governments.
I was reading more examples in these years, but now I'm lazy to look for
them: you can find them in a quick search.

What I see as an increased problem is the fact than people seems to be
more anesthetize about the use of Internet that in the past: nobody
(*even* IT people) wants to use emails anymore. I suffer it on my own
interactions. If even my close contacts (included "activists") refuse to
use emails... what can i do? to remain alone or to adapt to the majority
and to do what I know is not correct?
Is an obvious thing we need to rise our voices, the danger is to become
as hamsters running inside a wheel and believe we are going a long way.

I agree on most people is using FB, Telegram, WA, and Google products to
interact and search for information. I agree on Thomas' observations,
but in the middle we have a problem: the vacuum has to be filled... with
education? with what?
I don't know. But to say "people is dumb" is not enough and will not
stop them, specially those living under desperate situations.
I don t know the answers, I try to find them and experiment with
possible solutions since years, and the scenario turn worse from the
past to now.

I think all the critic voices need to join on try to find an accessible
solution for the ones that are in real harm because if it s just to
criticize them it will not change anyway.

Love,

Cristina (99)

[0]https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Social-Media-Imperialism-Facebook-Bans-Palestinian-Content-at-Behest-of-Israel-US-20171230-0023.html

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