In response to the huge popularity of FaceApp (the application that lets you download a picture of your old-self) many people in the United States express their concerns about privacy. The worries revolves around the use of personal data and the country of origin of the app (Russia). I am sincerely puzzled by the strength of the reaction: if you are that concerned about FaceApp, do you really understand the current state of the internet?
If You Are Concerned About FaceApp, Stop Using The Internet
When you understand the current state of the internet, you know that privacy is gone for good. We all traded it, consciously or not, for the sweet taste of convenience (I see you Amazon Prime) and for the illusion of feeling “safer”.
We also traded our privacy for the good, the bad and the ugly that comes with the use of social networks: connection, dialogue, community, but also voyeurism, narcissism and egocentricity.
When I first saw many articles flourishing about the dangers paused by FaceApp, I went on a small rant about it on my IG story. I basically stated that our phones, our computers, our smart TVs were already listening to us and selling back to us in real time through various advertising retargeting techniques.
So, unless, you are planning to stop doing online shopping, using the maps feature on your phone and deleting all the messaging apps and your social media accounts, you should consider your privacy gone for good. In a Vice entitled FaceApp Isn’t Creepy Because It’s Russian, It’s Creepy Because It’s Capitalist, Caroline wrote:
“Extracting data from unsuspecting users, selling and sharing that data god-knows-where, and justifying it by providing users unreadable privacy policies is a near-universal practice. It transcends Cold War phobias. It’s not Russian. It’s not American. It’s a fundamentally capitalist practice. Companies can only provide free apps and profit if they scrape and share data from the people that use it.”
If You Are Concerned About FaceApp, You Should be concerned about the U.S. government
I would also like to address the scarcity surrounding the Russian origin of the App. It is very important to keep in mind what Edward Snowden exposed about the mass surveillance practices of the United States on it’s citizens and beyond in 2016.
It is also crucial to understand the amount of pressure the U.S. put on his allies to pass unprecedented liberticide laws to spy on their citizens after the scandal emerged.
All of this to say that Russia might not be the best country for human rights, but neither is the United States. It is important to avoid denial and to #StayWoke in these fast-changing times.
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