re: #185 ObserverArt

Don’t you have to use your real name and address to create a Facebook account?

I’m not talking about screen names and all that once you have the account.

How hard is it for a computer to link your “private” sign-up with all of your data?

There is the what you see online as far as privacy settings and the confidence it gives you.

But in the background and what we have learned about Facebook, do you trust them to not be able to link who you really are with all your data and all your communications and then figure in who all you communicate with is really too?

I bet Facebook could print out a report that would send shivers down most people with what they know.

And don’t forget, they have admitted they connect to your phone and record who all you communicate with and then use that to further build your life record.

And if they can do that, they can take those names and phone numbers go back in to their database and link through your name all those others and build database on all kinds of things.

What other ways do they reach out into other databases and build and build the data. How about your school records, medical records, police records, voter registrations, other social networks, etc.? Maybe they don’t do that now, but they could if asked by a court order.

I am not trying to sound like a conspiracy nut or trash people that use Facebook. I find it all fascinating because I don’t use “observer” in my name for no reason.

I love observing the human experience. And Facebook is a powerful tool that impacts that experience.

I am also a freedom lover. And I worry some of this stuff takes away from that freedom when they are working unknown in the background as they proved with the 2016 election.

And then there is the what we don’t know thing that Zuckerberg is just fine not telling anyone about.

You just need a real email address. That’s all. You definitely don’t have to use your real name. And I appreciate you having an open mind to those of us who use the platform. I think your concerns are fair and valid which is why I agree that it needs to be regulated but sometimes we do need to make our own individual choices. Maybe this isn’t the best analogy but telephone books had our names, addresses, and phone numbers open to the public for years.