When Facebook decides who’s a terrorist
Web Publication: Fusion, by Kristin V. Brown
Tech children playing god
The miracle of the World Wide Web was that suddenly, anyone with a connection could reach out and have an equal voice alongside all the powerful players that traditionally dictated public communication, such as the state and corporations. The web allowed downtrodden groups to make their cases directly to the rest of the world rather than through the filter of big media, itself a manipulative big player. Facebook ramped up the potential of the web exponentially by creating a versatile multimedia platform.
Facebook shut down a group from Kashmir, who were already on the oppressed side of a political conflict. As a result, they’ve lost their connection to a large part of their audience. I cannot validate these claims, but as this article points out, the potential for abuse is undeniable. So what happens when Facebook starts to side with the state in every conflict? Why are the tech children who run Facebook’s day-to-day operation suddenly deciding who should live and die by choosing sides in a conflict? The term ‘terrorist’ is indeed ripe for abuse. What happens when a few million Americans who support a certain person are suddenly unplugged from Facebook for posting an insulting meme at the same time that a despotic new president introduces serious reprisals? We may not have to wait long to find out what happens next.