Re: <nettime> Richard Stallman: Eradicate Facebook!

[morlockelloi@yahoo.com]

Open or closed software doesn't make much difference, it's all about
data. An operator cannot 'open' data (like in letting everyone know
what the data and its derivatives are) without factoring itself out
of the business. On the other hand, there are (yet) no signs that
consumers will stop feeding operators data in exchange for convenience
and simulated intimacy.

The situation is somewhat similar to smoking - bad stuff comes
after decades, if ever. Perhaps repurposed ads from anti-smoking
campaigns may help. Each handset should be labeled in bold type with
slogans like "Using this device can damage your employment and health
insurance prospects", "Data transferred with this device can turn you
into a prosecutable criminal in less than 5 years", "Usage of this
phone can raise your mortgage interest" etc.

> I realize that this is a short interview, but I almost wish Stallman
> hadn't mentioned free software (his particular obsession, obviously,
> and a reasonable one), which could overshadow some much more basic
> concerns with FB. Using proprietary software is one thing--maybe
> it's inherently evil, maybe not--and collecting data on people's
> every movement is another. It's conceivable, just slightly, that
> Facebook could open-source all their software and not change their
> behavior a bit. If someone really wants to smother you, they can
> probably smother you with

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