No match for that power

A big New York Times article yesterday revealed how Facebook handed over user data to all the top tech companies and also to a Chinese company. A frequent response is to call users to delete their Facebook accounts.

Monjula Ray, in a Twitter thread, says to stop lecturing about deleting Facebook and call Congress to regulate instead. The problem isn’t just Facebook. All the major players buy and sell user data.

Mclissa McEwan of Shakesville reminds us deleting a Facebook account isn’t always possible. For many people Facebook is vital to their social interaction. Its loss would leave many in a devastating social vacuum. Many who are disgusted with the company are looking for alternatives – to find there aren’t any because Facebook swallowed them up. So don’t gloat if you’re not on Facebook.

So I won’t gloat.

McEwan added that her Shakesville blog would be much better known if she had a Facebook presence. She decided against it for the safety of the Shakesville community.

Noel King, a host on NPR’s Morning Edition, talked about the situation with Anand Giridharadas, author of the book, “Winners Take All: The Elite Charade Of Changing The World.” Giridharadas says deleting your Facebook account isn’t enough. Part of what he said (emphasis added):

I think it's worth thinking about analogies here. When you think about the predatory power of big food, and big sugar specifically, I think we've now learned that, you know, all of us trying to diet harder is no match for their political power. When we think about, you know, the opioid crisis and the people who promoted OxyContin, people individually fighting the demons of addiction is no match for that power. When you think about, you know, the Koch brothers and the deregulation agenda around pollution, you buying better paper towels and doing homework on which rivers are safe for your kids to swim in is no match for that political power.

And I think, by the way, when you think about Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and her advice to women - as Michelle Obama recently reminded us, you know, women simply leaning in and raising their hand higher is actually no match for thousands of years of oppressive patriarchy. So this company is actually part of this larger narrative that plutocrats and big corporations have been spreading in American life, which is that abusive behavior by the powerful is, in fact, your problem to solve as an individual.