With ‘Catfish‘ (go see it!) and ‘The Social Network‘ (can’t wait!) getting plenty of box office buzz, we gotta give a nod to Facebook not just as a social phenomenon, but a pop culture one, too. Fodder for movies, for songs, for brand new vocab, it’s almost hard to imagine a time when we couldn’t shamelessly air our laundry, taunt our exes, brag about our (meaning: your) babies and promote our work.
The New Facebook Privacy Debate
So what’s to happen if the Federal Government demands that Facebook unlock encrypted messages so that they are wiretap enabled? Meaning all of your raunchy correspondence is game for Big Brother? According to the New York Times, such a plan is in the works. The news is sparking some major Facebook privacy debates on the Internet.
We’ve entertained visions of what the ‘Book would be like if it had been around since the beginning of time. Never mind the obvious holes of impossibility in the theory. It’s funny. That’s all that matters. But is eavesdropping on your Facechats funny? Chances are (hopefully) good that you’re not running criminal empires using FB as your primary means of communication — but since Congress seems to believe that text messages and social network exchanges are better avenues for cracking codes than telephones and, um, fax machines, by this time next year, officials may just get their way.
What do you think? Is Facebook privacy doomed? Let us know in the comments.
Caroline Walker is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer and editor. She has worked in both the entertainment and the nonprofit sector. Walker holds a BA from the University of Southern California and an MA from New York University’s Gallatin School.
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