[Boycott - Other News]

Boycott FAQ - Should we boycott Facebook?

inminds
22 November 2012

A question that was recently asked on our facebook page..

Question:

Answer:

Recently they have also started investing in Israel. In March 2011 Facebook acquired Israeli software company Snaptu for US$60-70 million [1] and perhaps more alarmingly in June 2012 they bought up Israel facial recognition company Face.com for US$55-60 million.[2] UK campaign group Privacy International has warned "Facebook are in the process of building the largest and most accurate facial recognition database in the world..". Yes, all your profile photos and albums will be scanned by an Israeli company to identify and catalogue you, your family and your friends! Combine that with the contents of your posts, both private and public, that gives them a very detailed database of practically everyone on this planet. Even people who don't use Facebook usually know someone who does and invariably end up in their Facebook photo album, often tagged by name to make it easy for Facebook to catalogue.

But despite all this we have not called for a boycott of Facebook but rather have ourselves just a month ago opened a page on Facebook. The sad reality is that Facebook has become an essential method of communication and in our opinion to boycott it would not serve the Palestinian cause. Just over the last few days during the Israeli attack on Gaza we have seen the importance of Facebook and twitter as a primary method of getting news out of Gaza. So whilst we should be vigilant and understand what Facebook is and its links with Israel, we at the moment have no alternatives.

22 November 2012
Innovative Minds
www.inminds.com

[1]Facebook acquires first Israeli company
Source: http://israelity.com/2011/03/21/facebook-acquires-first-israeli-company/

[2]Facebook buys Israeli facial recognition firm Face.com
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18506255

Source: www.inminds.com

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