Facebook Reeling?

We are seeing some interesting things happening with Facebook. Zuckerberg is suddenly finding himself in a world of hurt. Is this something that he can get passed? Only time will tell but there are some headwinds he is encountering.

The week started with Facebook and its family of applications being down for 7 hours. Zuckerberg claims it was an internal error yet few believe that. It is most likely a hack, something the company is going to do its best to cover up. As we will see, this is par for the course with Facebook.

There was also testimony in front of a United States Senate subcommittee. Frances Haugen, who is now becoming known as the Facebook whistleblower, issued some damning testimony against the company. We are already starting to see some grandstanding from Senators as they get on their soap boxes.

What is the impact of this? We will have to see how things unfold but there was this Tweet sent out Monday.

facebook.png

Whistleblower Testimony

The testimony of Ms Haugen ranged from very embarrassing to truly damning. At best, the company is going to have to explain its position which is rather obvious. For Zuckerberg, there are a host of things that could really hit him personally.

According to CNN Business, these were the four highlights of her testimony:

  • Facebook has taken limited action to address existing misinformation
  • Facebook has misled the public about the negative effects of its platforms on children and teens, especially young girls
  • Facebook's mechanics further the spread of misinformation
  • Facebook knows its platforms enable human exploitation

All of this is scandalous although it is not anything new. Most had an idea that Facebook did all these things. Perhaps, the degree that it engages in this behavior and how much it is core to the business is surprising to some.

As bad as this is, there is another piece to this puzzle that could be fatal to Zuckerberg.

She has reportedly filed at least eight whistleblower complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company is hiding research about its shortcomings from investors and the public.

This could have serious implications on Zuckerberg. Running afoul of the Securities Law when people are out for you is never a good thing. It seems like Commissioner Gensler might get a few phone calls from Capitol Hill asking about the state of these complaints.

Senator Edward Markey is already out there calling for answers.

Of course, he focused upon the protection of children. Give it some time before someone starts calling for an investigation into the financial dealings of the company and what Zuckerberg is hiding. As CEO, he signs a liability statement when submitting the quarterly earnings. If the material they provide is hiding damaging information, he could face criminal charges.

Often this type of stuff is overlooked, unless someone has it in for you. Then the selective prosecution ratchets things up.

Transition From Web2 To Web 3

The headwinds Facebook is encountering will only serve to enhance the battle that is taking place. It is not, however, the main focus of the war.

Breaking up Facebook will do little, overall, to stem the tide. Ultimately, it would do nothing more than spread the ownership of the applications, not alter the way they operate.

After all, they are Web 2.0 applications. Forming 3 or 4 companies out of it does not materially change what these applications are for. In short, they are designed to accumulate data that is sold. Surveillance Capitalism is at the core of this. Thus, the breaking up of Facebook would only shift who profits.

For this reason, our foray into Web 3.0 is vital. We need to establish the platforms that take back our data, putting it out of control of the likes of Zuckerberg. This is where a blockchain like Hive enters the picture.

Hive has 3 second transaction time and zero direct transaction costs. This is something that is overlooked within the cryptocurrency industry. Many are discussing decentralized social media. However, how can that exist where fees are assessed for each transaction? Few will want to pay even a nominal amount to give an upvote or leave a comment.

This is why many of the proposed solutions will have a tough time gaining any traction. We know that people want to interact without charge. Of course, on the Web 2.0 platforms, there is a price that is paid and it is one's data.

Nevertheless, for most, this is not of great concern.

Basically, it all comes back to our development. We need to produce the applications that can provide the functionality that Web 2.0 offers along with the freedom of Web 3.0. At the moment, the features are lagging behind to a large degree. However, as time passes, we will see more functionality roll out from the web 3.0 developers.

The Metaverse

Zuckerberg made news over the last few weeks with more announcements of how he wants to make Facebook a metaverse company. This is in keeping with where the Internet eventually will head. For all his faults, Zuckerberg does have a keen sense of where things are going.

This latest episode of ills for the company show why it is vital that Zuckerberg be cut off from achieving this end. Recently, a plan was revealed for Facebook to develop the Metaverse in a responsible manner. Does anyone really believe the company has any intention of doing this?

The situation with Oculus shows how vital this is. To start, anyone who wants to use that VR headset requires a Facebook account, in good standing, to utilize it. Since this will be tied to one's wallet holding tokens and other NFTs, if one gets banned, all that is inaccessible.

There is another problem that was exemplified with the outage yet did not receive much attention. When Facebook went down, guess what happened to the ability to use the headset. Not only were people not able to access the Facebook applications, they could not engage with any site via their Oculus headset.

In other words, the potential exists for the entire Internet to be cut off because of one company.

It is not a situation that we can allow to happen.

When people talk about the Metaverse, it is this idea of an open, interoperable forum where people are free to go where they want and the siloed system of today does not exist. We can presume this is the last thing that Zuckerberg, or any other technology CEO, has in mind.

In summary, the present state of affairs for Facebook are of benefit to our march towards Web 3.0. However, it is not what we should base our movement upon. Depending upon politicians and government is never a good idea. It is in our best interest, and that of humanity, to provide an alternate system that far surpasses what the likes of Zuckerberg have to offer.

And that is exactly what Web 3.0 is going to do.


To read further about the Metaverse, click on these articles:



If you found this article informative, please give an upvote and rehive.

gif by @doze

screen_vision2025_1.png

logo by @st8z

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta



0
0
0.000
40 comments
avatar

Hope fb days of selling personal information areover but government's do the same to us no

0
0
0.000
avatar

They all do it.

Hope fb days of selling personal information areover

I would not bet on that. It is the core of their business model.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Agree but I hope so cause I don't see fb in near future if they continue to follow old Way

0
0
0.000
avatar

The idea that Facebook fueled an insurrection that didn't happen is just a way to keep the political simpletons worked up. While I don't pretend to know what happened at Facebook, I'm certainly not buying it's okay for BLM and Antifa to coordinate their riots on Facebook,... but some how those who wanted to protest on January 6th, is some how labeled as harmful.

Who knows what the clowns in DC are really after, but I don't buy the story.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Well the idea of false news certainly depends upon the viewpoint.

Personally I think the place to find fake news is on the mainstream cable channels. That is the most misleading of them all.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Hmmm for me I know I can't use Facebook metaverse or to use any wallet from them.they can block account easily if you open any wallet from them, once they block you. Your coin has gone.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

For sure, I wouldn't want to trust my assets with companies that can block you without any warnings either.

0
0
0.000
avatar

pixresteemer_incognito_angel_mini.png
Bang, I did it again... I just rehived your post!
15

0
0
0.000
avatar

It all feels very much like manipulation to me, Someone wants cheaper facebook shares.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Could be. Congress can invest in companies that comes before their subcommittees so maybe Senator Markey is trying to get a better price.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

It couldn't have happened to a better company. I think you are right when you say that we will look back on this week and point to it as the beginning of the end for Facebook. They're not going away, but I find it hard to believe that investors will trust them to the point that their stock price could ever achieve higher results than where it recently topped out.

What we really DO have to be concerned about is making sure that our government doesn't use this as a way to take even more of our rights away. "For the good of the people" is what they say when they want to increase their power and control over the masses by infringing on our freedoms. Atlas Shrugged...

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

What we really DO have to be concerned about is making sure that our government doesn't use this as a way to take even more of our rights away.

They are at the point, I dont think they even care about an excuse anymore.

However, the battle is going to be over information. That is where Web 3.0 enters. When these clowns get exposed for what they are doing, their comfort level will drop.

When the narrative is controlled, it is much easier to keep the masses in line. I am not sure that will be the case in a couple years.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

Like you said, the implosion of Facebook and how it'll cave in for a stronger technology like hive wouldn't even have be based on the issues, the fact that the internet will metamorphosise into better prospects like hive which will give people more freedom, more financial opportunities and of course owning and benefiting from their data is the grounds which web 3.0 will take over.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

hive, it's getting more stable as a cryto-based social media, I'm very happy and looking forward to the next progress, keep up the spirit for the developers, HIVE ON!! @taskmaster4450le

0
0
0.000
avatar

Meh, if the Libra coin is any indication, it seems like Facebook is (so far) very quiet and slow with any crypto plans.

I'm not one to underestimate Zuckerberg or anything, maybe Facebook will be able to become "the" mainstream metaverse (I hope not). Whatever this outage was, I feel good knowing that I didn't even notice... Been a long time since I felt compelled to check FB or Insta :-P

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I’m loving how people are becoming aware now, the last blackout made people have a rethink towards one person’s control over quarter the world’s population. It brought awareness, I hope this marks the beginning of the web 3 adoption

0
0
0.000
avatar

Just wait until they have to disclose to their investors a Court decision that there is a prima facie case for a trillion dollar cartel class action against them.

Arguably they should have already disclosed it.
They’ve been on notice for more than 2 years.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Now twitch TV is the next casualty.. I heard from vimm that they had a complete leak of their source code and creator payouts.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Facebook no se a querido actualizar y sigue a la antigua como red social primitiva, y pionera eso es lo que pasa ..

0
0
0.000
avatar

Sorry, but no mercy with someone using a Oculus headset when it is known that quitting your Fb-account disables that device too. I mean who would voluntarily enslave himself that much to a company?
I hope this was a lesson for many.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Even Solana Blockchain went down and all the applications associated with it, so why is Facebook and its family of apps going down damaging?

I agree, Facebook and even google are things we feel uncomfortable of as they are tracking our online behavior and marketing it and influencing outcomes...

There are some alternatives to facebook, its reputation is really bad and no one trusts FB or WatsUp with out data thesedays!!

Google will take time to move out because we are so used to it from googlemaps to that chrome browser in our phones and that google app store...that's not going to get dismandled ealisy because of web 3, facebook might coz its reputation is mud!!

Anyway...

I don't use FB atall thesedays post pandemic busy writting and reading articles here...it had its pros, it helped in networking a community to do something good...but a decentralised platform maybe able to do something similar.

Problem is or was, I wanted to know whats happening in my City, I wanted to know events that I can take part in according to my interest, Facebook with its tracking my previous history was able to notify of events I might be interested.

So networking wise that app was helpful in the recent past for me...

anyway...

0
0
0.000
avatar

Hey Taskerino!! That's a nice line-up of articles to check out, !BRO ... I see a few in there I've missed. Have you considered making these into a collection?

You have a lot of stuff I think would be suitable for them, but I didn't any on your page. If nothing else it would be a single link instead of a list of stuff to track down and organize on the fly... Have a !BEER and maybe a slice of !PIZZA while you think it over... 😁

0
0
0.000
avatar

Yesterday I was walking through my town and I heard a lady comment, the only thing I learned yesterday was that we are nothing without social networks, many comments passed through my mind, but something that worries me is that ignorance still abounds, many people still do not They know the danger that their entire source of information on Facebook runs and everything they do with all that information without her knowing it, I read this information and it clarifies many doubts about the situation that happened with social networks. I think that the majority of Internet surfers know about every situation, the politicians I think have taken a long time to react. Faced with this, I can already observe the consequences in my environment; The moment I discovered Hive, I knew I was in the right place, I am very confident in its structure, and I feel very safe, thank you very much for this important information.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I just hope it wasn't a hack that they're trying to cover up, because so many people's information are on Facebook, which can be exploited by hackers to Scam people.

Some time last week I got a call, of

From some so called UK company, that want to help me manage my finance, I told the person I didn't register for any company to help me manage my finance, then I ask where he got my details he said Facebook, I know it was a scam, so hang up on him.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I think Hive will benefit from the people move from centralized social media to decentralized like Hive. We already see a strong heartbeat today with the price going over $1.20 and this should just be a glimpse to what is to come.

curation_banner.bmp

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I've gotta be honest, I am not fully on board with all of this whistleblower testimony. Although Facebook is a centralized company, I kind of agree that it isn't their job to be the ultimate gate keeper of what happens on their platform. I mean let's imagine some of this stuff were happening on Hive? Who would be held accountable? Hopefully the perpetrator, but more likely people just want to blame someone other than themselves, so who would it be? Hive? Good luck with that. The biggest drawback to Facebook is the fact that they have a "face" to put with the name. I am not saying Zuckerberg isn't a shady fella, but holding him accountable for all of the bullying (if all of it really is bullying) in the world is a bit much. This is where we are though, everyone needs someone to blame. On a side note, I have seen a lot of new blockchain based social media platforms being advertised. Even one on ETH. How miserable would that be. $30 gas fee any time you want to post...

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

While I initially viewed the whistleblower as good news, I have difficulty believing one would be featured on the mainstream media, and I now see how her testimony is being twisted to favor more censorship. Was that the intent all along?

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

There just isn't enough information out about what happened. It is either a hack or a update went wrong. But I don't think people will forget the few hours it was offline and people are probably trying to find some alternatives. However this is probably based on what the alternatives are...and the main facebook platform is probably hard to replace.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

It is the canary in the coal mine. Why anyone still uses Facebook is beyond me?? New days are upon us and they won’t be centralized. :)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I was one of those people trying to get on to FB yesterday and could not get on. I realized it was with the website due the fact I could get to all my other sites just fine. I just thought they were working on an update. Really didn't bother to much because I can get information in other places. You do give a pause for thought as to what really went on.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I'm more inclined to believe that the outages were somehow related to a "Watergate-like" purging of files and erasing tracks pointing to wrongdoing that might get Zuck & Co. in too much hot water. A server network the size of FB's pretty much has 100% uptime; "parts" may go haywire from time to time, but the entire network?

But we'll probably never know.

=^..^=

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I kind of missed the whole thing. I don't bother myself with these silly traditional media/social media stuff. Government solutions are not real solutions. People should be responsible for their well being and their actions. Else there will be rules to protect us from ourselves. That's a very bad idea.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000
avatar

I would say most problems for Zuckerberg and Facebook are related to politics. Many big time players think Zuckerberg got too big and needs to be put in his proper place. It dates from few years ago, when Zuckerberg was going on widely publicised tour of Iowa and some began to speculate whether he would try to become another Trump.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

0
0
0.000