by Ed Oswald
PC World
May 2, 2011
Reposted in Full
“Julian Assange claims that Facebook is complacent in providing the U.S. government with a way to spy on its citizens, calling it "the most appalling spying machine ever invented." The controversial founder of Wikileaks made the comments in an interview with Russia Today that aired on Monday. Assange is currently in England and is awaiting extradition to Sweden over sexual assault charges filed by two women last year.
Has Facebook automated government snooping? Facebook and other sites all have built-in methods for U.S. intelligence personnel to snoop on users of the site, Assange claims. Users' information, including names, locations, relationships, friends, and communications are all there for the government to see, and Assange appears none too happy about it. "It's not a matter of serving a subpoena, they have an interface they have developed for U.S. Intelligence to use," Assange told Russia Today's Laura Emmett. "Now, is it the case that Facebook is run by U.S. Intelligence? No, it's not like that. It's simply that U.S. Intelligence is able to bring to bear legal and political pressure to them."
The idea that Facebook could be used as a spying tool is nothing new--the Justice Department has already begun training its personnel on how to use social networking sites as tools in evidence gathering. Local law enforcement has also been known to use social networks for evidence gathering on suspects.
Assange's claims do not revolve around these methods, which would typically involve a subpoena or an undercover cop. What he is saying is that the government is getting free reign to spy as it wants without going through the usual legal channels. "Everyone should understand that when they add their friends to Facebook, they are doing free work for United States intelligence agencies," Assange said.
Facebook: We fight back when necessary: Facebook is already facing increasing criticism over privacy issues, and more attention to the topic could harm its reputation even more. Spokesperson Andrew Noyes takes issue with Assange's characterization. "We don't respond to pressure, we respond to compulsory legal process," Noyes told PCWorld in an email. "There has never been a time we have been pressured to turn over data-we fight every time we believe the legal process is insufficient." Noyes did say that Facebook's policies governing the release of data to government officials are dependent on the laws of that particular country, and that the site "respects that standard." (Meaning if it's done in shady ways by that gov't, Facebook respects that "standard" and gives it your info )
Facebook has become a social media that everyone has and it can really be used for lots of good in promoting the Deen and other good things but unfortunately many Muslims have fallen into the trap of Shaytan by putting themselves out there in a very bad way.
Women, instead of guarding their modesty and beauty are putting up photos of themselves out there for the world to see and many are connecting with men, chatting with men and looking for attention, and men are doing the same thing.
Muslims are wasting hundreds of useless hours on "Fitna"book instead of learning their Deen and forming a relationship with Allah, azza wa jaal, and adhering to Quran and Sunnah.
i swear theres another thread bout this wots the big deal, so some people go on facebook nw and again its not some big conspiracy...yes some people abuse it but not everyone is like that...
Facebook is a way to connect your friends and family and there's nothing wrong with that. As long as there's not fitnah, that's fine. Anyone's Facebook can be easily hacked into, I remember a police officer said he could hack into it in 15 minutes so it can be used as a spying tool. There was also a case of a 13 year old boy who wrote something about killing Obama on his wall and there were like men in black after him.
obviously, facebook raises big issues and does promote fitna. however - apart from the whole spying hacking thing - if facebook is used appropriately, it's fine. just try not to expose everything about your life as some tend to do, lol. and don't add people of the opposite sex... sensible people should know that already.
you shouldn't have pictures of yourself up there or on the internet in general. when they're up, anyone can save them and ogle at them or whatever, hijab or no hijab. havin your head covered don't mean it's okay for men to ogle at you... quite the opposite actually.
my facebook's private and hidden from search and so are many of my friends' accounts, but there's always the issue of men walking past and looking, males going on their female friends' facebooks, you know the deal... so i'd rather not take the chance. same goes for males, not singling out us females here.
Facebook: Social Networking or Social Engineering?
By: Mirza Yawar Baig - 6 Jumad al-Thani 1431, 20 May 2010
The big question is, ‘What is social networking and how is it useful?’
Of course you will hear the usual bleating saying, ‘It is so nice to know what my sister is doing….blah, blah.’
So ask this person, ‘Why can’t you send your sister an email asking what she is doing and she can respond to you. Or even better, if you can, call your sister and talk to her.’ But no, I must talk to my sister in a space where it is not only the sister who is listening but almost anyone who cares to listen, even if that person is a total stranger. So is it about your concern for your sister or is it something else?
So also in this space are pictures which really have no place outside the home – like the pictures showing you hugging your sister or wife or whoever! And so on and so on. I don’t think I need to describe all that there is to people who put it there in the first place.
Yes, of course there are controls. Tell me all about them. Tell me also how come almost nobody uses them. How many Facebook profiles do you know who have the maximum control activated where only their immediate family can see them? And of course in the end, all control is only as good as the techies and geeks on the Facebook site allow. After all they can access all that information anyway.
So what is really being achieved by Facebook, Twitter and so on? (Twitter?? Whoever coined that term was clever. Talk about under the belt. Who twitters? A twit!! – but then I suppose a twit doesn’t know that he is a twit, right?)
So what is achieved?
What is achieved is what would be the equivalent of peeping in through your window. Wanting to know what you are doing all the time. I want to know what you are doing all the time and I want you to know what I am doing all the time.
Intrusion into privacy when it is done against your will is unpleasant. So what is better? Get you into a state of mind where you will volunteer to tell people all about your internal organs on your own. See the change? An intruder is an intruder only when he intrudes against your will. If you invite him in, then he is a guest, not an intruder. Same person, same you but different rules. And that’s what it is all about, the rules of engagement.
So is it ‘social networking’ or is it ‘social engineering?’
The purpose is to change the rules of the society. Break barriers. Destroy the boundaries that protect us.
And where does this lead to? Addiction and intoxication. Addiction to seeing what others are doing and telling others what you are doing on a daily, hourly, minute by minute basis. And being intoxicated with the false feeling that you are so interesting that people are really interested in what you are doing. Not realizing or willing to believe that these are the actions of other intoxicated people.
You don’t like the word ‘intoxication’? Just don’t log onto your Facebook or Twitter account for two days and monitor your heartbeat, blood pressure, tremor in your mouse, whatever and you will see what I mean.
And all this for what? What is achieved with the time that you spend reading about other’s adenoids and telling them about yours? Incidentally I know what adenoids means and that you don’t talk about them. But let us not mention what facebookers really talk about!
So what did you achieve? Just ask yourself this question, ‘What did I achieve by being on Facebook and Twitter (or whichever of these infernal social networks you are on) over the past month, year or whatever period.’ Remember this is a serious question because you Muslim/ah are spending your time (life) doing it. And that makes it among the first questions that you will have to answer to Allah. So what did you achieve? Prepare the answer. You will need it.
Social networking is social engineering. Its purpose is to change the values and ethics of people. This is done, in its most benign form, to encourage you to indulge more and more in the consumerist society that is all consuming. We think we are the consumers. But we are in reality the consumed. Just think, how many of you buy things, see shows, go to restaurants (and other places), like or dislike things because of campaigns on Facebook and Twitter? See what is happening? Your minds are invaded, your thoughts are influenced, and consequently your actions are manipulated and you may not even realize it.
Today Muslims the world over are very angry with the latest offensive of the Facebook. But an impulsive reaction will hardly do us any good. Just staying off of the offensive site for one day, as many have advocated, will only highlight our capitulation to it.
It is time we rethink what are we doing with our lives and say no to social engineering. It is time to get off of Facebook, Twitter, and other similar sites that are destroying us from within.
i swear theres another thread bout this wots the big deal, so some people go on facebook nw and again its not some big conspiracy...yes some people abuse it but not everyone is like that...
Yeah the other one I posted in World Affairs...
There are some good things such as
Connecting to college mates and stuff
Very useful for business!
However a lot of people get addicted to it now, instead I think it's replaced mobile phone numbers! Normally when you would chat up a girl you would say give your mobile number now they say give your facebook!
Facebook is 'ok' but too many people post too much personal details..
Oh and the government always spy on people, look at the news they always arrest people over facebook for doing something this is because friends tell and government monitor it to, what about London riots?
I think threads about FB will continue untill facebook is closed or that guy, mark zuckerberg, manages to get a law that sues every person who speaks about FB outside FB.
Some interesting argument from people who are "hypnotised" by the FB forces :
- People used facebook for good purposes.
- People made collective works, collaborative activities.
- Revolutions have been raised through fb. Fighting for noble causes.
- People made business using facebook and gained money.
- Facebook helps you keep in touch with relatives and "friends".
- You can get news from fb.
Beautiful !
Now, also, every muslim knows the bad side of facebook. I just don't want to talk about all the filthy things that you can go through with fb.
But ok fb has negative points and has also some positive points, it's like TV (I like this argument :|) It's how you use it that counts.
Right. But what if I try to use facebook the right way, but I somehow got forced or pushed or lured to use it the bad way. In fb it's so possible that you get forced and drowned into fitna, so easily.
But let's suppose that I manage to use it the good way. You should agree that the minimal harm of facebook is the waste of time. How much time do you spend on fb. In that time, how much knowledge or benefit do you get. How many good deeds and useful things you could do in such time, outside fb, in real life ?
Now one last question. Do you think spending time on fb will make you closer to Allah ?
If the prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam was alive today, and visits you. Will he be happy to know you are on fb. If Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam was alive today, will you meet him on fb ? Will he have a fb account ? or will he be against fb ?
Last edited by marwen; 12-13-2011 at 07:59 PM.
"O you who believe! Fear ALLAH as He should be feared" [aal 'Imraan, 102]
You don't have to be part of some spy agency to use facebook to obtain peoples information. People are so ignorant when it comes to their privacy options on Facebook - there is a way of keeping your pictures private and your wall private etc but some people are not aware of this or just not to use this option so people can get information easily - people put too much personal information on facebook not realising who could be looking at their profile in my opinion. I used to have facebook but deleted it since facebook always keeps your pictures even when you delete your facebook - its kinda strange.
You don't have to be part of some spy agency to use facebook to obtain peoples information. People are so ignorant when it comes to their privacy options on Facebook - there is a way of keeping your pictures private and your wall private etc but some people are not aware of this or just not to use this option so people can get information easily - people put too much personal information on facebook not realising who could be looking at their profile in my opinion. I used to have facebook but deleted it since facebook always keeps your pictures even when you delete your facebook - its kinda strange.
Thanks to these lack of proper privacy settings. You will find dating sites and matirmonial sites are taking FB users infos and pictures and putting on their sites with a link to the FB for a small fee. There are also porn sites who lure users putting up FB user pictures with deceptive titles and wordings.
Lastly, even if you have it all private and hiden from the world. Those in charge of the site (admins) can see it and do look at it. Other then all that, every person info and picture you put up goes into their database connected with CIA, making a nice profile of you. The best part is that you are stooged into giving them everything without a warrant and on a daily basis!
Remember when Mark Zuckerberg said you need to get over the fact that there is no privacy on the internet?
He meant it.
Many people, however, think the fun of posting on and the interaction of Facebook overshadows the downside, or they merely ignore the negative aspects.
Well, it turns out it is worse than we previously thought.
Hacker and writer Nik Cubrilovic has a post on his blog today revealing some really scary and downright police state Stasi-like aspects of the popular “service”.
Cubrilovic writes that Facebook keeps track of every website you visit that has its “Like” button on it, even if YOU ARE LOGGED OUT OF FACEBOOK. It does this through the cookies it routinely plants on your computer.
The only solution to this is to delete Facebook’s cookies after every session, or use a separate browser for Facebook usage.
Cubrilovic explains: “With my browser logged out of Facebook, whenever I visit any page with a Facebook like button, or share button, or any other widget, the information, including my account ID, is still being sent to Facebook. The only solution to Facebook not knowing who you are is to delete all Facebook cookies… It is all hidden in plain sight.”
Cubrilovic tried to email Facebook about his concerns on several occasions, but they ignored him.
Help me to escape from this existence
I yearn for an answer... can you help me?
I'm drowning in a sea of abused visions and shattered dreams
In somnolent illusion... I'm paralyzed
I used to have facebook but deleted it since facebook always keeps your pictures even when you delete your facebook - its kinda strange.
Your picture too? with your name or with someone else name?
Until early of 2011 there were many fake Facebook accounts that produced by human or by "Facebook accounts maker robot". They used fake name names from "Fake name generator", but they used photos from real Facebook accounts. Many of these fake accounts have been disabled, but the rest maybe still active. So, don't be surprised if you find two accounts with different name but same photo.
The German State of Schleswig-Holstein has ordered all state sites to remove Facebook's "like" button. Sites that fail to comply could face fines of up to 50,000 euros, or about $72,000.
Schleswig-Holstein's data protection commissioner, Thilo Weicher, ordered the shutdown after an analysis by his office showed that Facebook builds profiles of users and non-users alike with the "like" button's data. Because such data collection violates Germany's data protection laws, Weicher has given websites operated in Schleswig-Holstein until September 30th to remove all "like" buttons.
Facebook has issued its own statement in response to Weicher's claims. The company has denied Weicher's claims and insists that the "like" button is compliant with European Union data protections standards. According to Facebook, the "like" button only collects the IP addresses of non-users, and even that information is deleted after 90 days.
The European Union--and Germany in particular--has much stricter online privacy laws than does the United States.
Yes that is true. I actually did a dissertation on internet law in USA, Iran and Germany. USA is much less strict because of their constitution and the right to free speech etc Germany repsects the right to free speech but not at the costs of hurting others in society e.g Germany bans neo nazi websites while USA doesn't. I like the german model much more.
Your picture too? with your name or with someone else name?
Until early of 2011 there were many fake Facebook accounts that produced by human or by "Facebook accounts maker robot". They used fake name names from "Fake name generator", but they used photos from real Facebook accounts. Many of these fake accounts have been disabled, but the rest maybe still active. So, don't be surprised if you find two accounts with different name but same photo.
Mom sues teens over fake Facebook profile of her son
September 25th, 2009
Ah, wasn’t it much simpler when kids just spread outrageous lies about each other through bathroom graffiti?
Instead, four teens allegedly created a Facebook profile for Laura Cook’s son. The page, which featured the teen’s name, photo and cell phone number, claimed that the boy was having sex with other boys and made racist remarks, including one about President Barack Obama. The fake profile might have been nasty and crude, but it was popular, quickly collecting at least 580 online friends.
The page has since been taken down, but Cook, a Chicago-area mom, isn’t satisfied. She filed a lawsuit this week in a county circuit court, claiming that her son was defamed and his reputation damaged, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The lawsuit lists the teen defendants only by their initials, R.C., A.G., K.Z., and M.S. Cook is asking for unspecified damages.
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