The Facebook monopoly is a lot more twisted than many might think. According to https://www.internetlivestats.com/, at the time of writing the blog post, there are roughly 2.4 billion active users on Facebook and almost 60 million pictures have been uploaded to Instagram. This exemplifies the horrendous surveillance power that Facebook has and the immense amount of data they are capable of collecting on a daily basis. Not only does this generate insane amounts of income for Facebook, but it also gives Facebook incredible political power. This is particularly highlighted in the article “Instagram shuts down Iranian accounts after Soleimani’s death” clearly exemplifying how Facebook can shut down unwanted opinions in regard to politics. Activists, journalists and citizens all had their accounts shut down for speaking up against what had happened (Cockerell, 2020). When it comes to fighting such gruesome and invasive surveillance and control, the people have the power to speak out against surveillance and force governments to pass laws that would protect us (NBC news, 2018). It is only when people realize what is being done with their data that they would be ready to limit their digital footprint on the Internet, which would impact big corporates’ winning rates and force them to comply with the people’s will. In addition to that, once the corporate falls, the government quickly follows. This is due to the inseparability of politics and economy.
Reference
https://www.internetlivestats.com/
Cockerell, I. (2020). Instagram shuts down Iranian accounts after Soleimani’s death. Retrieved from https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/instagram-iran-soleimani/
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