Thread by @timdunlop

Platforms like FB are free to use. We swap our data for use of them. It's a shitty deal, but we've been doing it for more than a decade. They turn the data into targeted ads (which is why we don't pay directly). Cambridge Analytica are a symptom of this business model

I'm not saying we shouldn't be concerned about this stuff, but it seems a bit weird the sudden outrage this is causing.

At least part of it is the political mainstream trying to discipline the platforms

And obviously, legacy media have a vested interest in doing this

Here's the thing: any 'curation' that stops pro-Trump content will also stop pro-Sanders content too (choose your own opposing egs)

So be careful what you wish for in terms of change/regulation

Ultimately the platforms need a shakeup, to be better citizens and realise the civic role they play. We need a better model of data ownership & use, not just to avoid CA-type situations, but also the concentration of wealth that is happening.

Mostly we need to stop with the knee-jerk responses to the CA story and recognise the structural problem we have created with the 'information wants to be free' mentality.

Data is labour and we need to treat it as such

And FFS, politicians need to be more tech literate

BTW: If you want to close your FB page in protest, that's up to you, but it won't solve the problem. Even if we all do it and the site disappears.

This is worth a read
opendemocracy.net/neweconomics/o…

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