Julian Assange rails against Facebook, says it's a spy tool for US government

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Duder1no

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The founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange said that Facebook is the most 'appaling spying machine ever invented'.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange called Facebook "the most appalling spying machine ever invented" in an interview with Russia Today, pointing to the popular social networking site as one of the top tools for the U.S. to spy on its citizens.

"Here we have the world's most comprehensive database about people, their relationships, their names, their addresses, their locations, their communications with each other and their relatives, all sitting within the United States, all accessible to US Intelligence," he said. "Facebook, Google, Yahoo, all these major U.S. organizations have built-in infaces for US intelligence.

"Everyone should understand that when they add their friends to Facebook they are doing free work for the United States intelligence agencies," he added.

The comments were a bit strange, coming from the founder of a website best known for pushing spilling secret information.

In an email to the Daily News, a Facebook spokesman denied the company was doing anything that they weren't legally obligated to do, saying that "the legal standards for compelling a company to turn over data are determined by the laws of the country, and we respect that standard."

"We don't respond to pressure, we respond to compulsory legal process," the spokesperson wrote. "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."

In any event, many Facebook users have been increasingly concerned about the sharing of their information.

In 2010, three Democratic senators asked the FTC to look at the social networking site's information-sharing policies.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that popular Facebook apps like Farmville and Causes also shared users' information with advertising and tracking companies.

Concerns about information-sharing has seemingly done little to dissuade the more than 250 million people who use Facebook - including someone who created an official WikiLeaks page on the site.

More than 1.72 million people clicked that they like it.

Assange is currently in England, awaiting extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault charges.

Source: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange rails against Facebook, says it's a spy tool for US government
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
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I don;t think it is a spy tool directly. But seeing that phone companies gave up anybody during the Bush years because of threats it could be used as one.

As people should know, don't post ANYTHING online unless you are ok with everybody seeing it at anytime.
 

IceBergSLiM

Lifer
Jul 11, 2000
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I don;t think it is a spy tool directly. But seeing that phone companies gave up anybody during the Bush years because of threats it could be used as one.

As people should know, don't post ANYTHING online unless you are ok with everybody seeing it at anytime.

haven't they admitted this?
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
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It'd be hard to believe the US government hasn't asked for access, and they usually seem to get what they want.

Remember those Western Union telegrams by which important messages used to be sent, like back in the 1950's?

The US government secretly sent a man to their office every day to collect a copy of all the messages to be looked at.

There are good books on the topic - read James Bamford's books describing the activities of the NSA. It used to unofficially stand for 'No Such Agency'.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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Of course it is. The NSA has dreamed of creating such a database for decades and now it's done for them.

It's a Captain Obvious thing.
 

ayabe

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Aug 10, 2005
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So I guess I'm not the only luddite here who absolutely refuses to join Facebook/Twitter or any other social media?

My objections are many, privacy being up there, but to me - I already speak to my friends and family as much as I need to and people not in that circle - I have no desire to interact with. So it really doesn't need to go any further than that, the fact that they are selling/giving every single piece of information you post on there to who knows who is just icing on the cake.

People from middle school I haven't seen or spoken to in 20 years? Sorry don't care.

Good thing I have a steady job, according to NPR being highly versed in social media is an absolute necessity to getting a job in certain industries these days. Fuck that.
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
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Give a fool a rope and watch him hang himself.

In this case the interwebz and the desire for attention is the rope.

Just as Carter was the 'real driver' behind bringing down the Soviet Union enticing them into Afghanistan, Gore was the real force behind the CIA's most effective tool.

They're very good at getting Republicans to help them with their cover, attacking them for not being authoritarian enough.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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Give a fool a rope and watch him hang himself.

In this case the interwebz and the desire for attention is the rope.

If one were to state that Facebook was created for the purposes of government data collection I'd say their clock was wound too tight. If the contention is that it would be used as if it were, then I'd agree.
 

wuliheron

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Feb 8, 2011
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The entire internet is plugged directly into the government's computers on the pretext of searching for terrorists. When Homeland security was first created what did they do with this fabulous new tool and the willingly surrendered privacy of Americans everywhere? They harassed and bust all the small time leftists organizations in the country that ever gave them a hard time like PETA and Greenpeace. Assange isn't doing anyone any favors with this "revelation" that the government uses facebook to collect data. Some people use the service just to feed lots of crap leads right back at the assholes.
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
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Facebook is a wet dream for governments and organizations who want to monitor everything. Not only do they not have to create it and pay for it, they don't have to gather information on anyone, the people voluntarily provide just about everything to them. All neatly organized so they can track who is connected to whom etc. Absolutely brilliant.

Anyone who doesn't think the NSA and probably half a dozen other agencies are up to their ears in facebook data is delusional.
 
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