(originally posted on, ha, Facebook, June 3 2020)
It’s time. Data is the new capital, the new power. Zuckerberg has shown that Facebook’s quest for data — and thereby, power — is limited not by ethics, or even by morality. It’s limited ONLY by the limits that We The People will set. So…
Not suspending. Not temporarily disabling. Erasing as much data and then deleting as thoroughly as Facebook makes possible.
I will not willingly contribute to systemic oppression.
This is hard. It’s like throwing away a garage full of family keepsakes. It’s like volunteering for a lobotomy to erase treasured memories. It’s going to put a crimp in my ability to grow and manage my business on social media. It’s even going to be one less channel that I cannot use to help organize and connect good people together.
As someone who depends on social connection, this is very scary for me.
I realize now that it is exactly these sentiments that give Facebook the power that it has. And that power is harming the lives of too many other people. If people of color can stand up to armed police, this middle-aged white guy can delete a social media account. And urge others to do the same.
I’ll be posting instructions on how to back up and download your data. I’ll be reaching out to every single person on my “friend” list and sharing my email and phone number so we can stay connected via other means. A convenient way to maintain connections across the miles must never be paid for with the erosion of objective truth, equality, and basic human rights.
I’ll be off for good by 12am Central Time, Sunday June 7. (Due to Facebook’s own attempt to retain its users the actual deletion won’t go into effect until two weeks later, but I will not be logging in after the date above.)
I urge you all to join me.
Do your own research, a little reading on “big data.” A little reflection on oppressive systems. On political contributions. Some googling on how conflict and highly emotional exchanges actually help a platform like Facebook. On how different the very very rich are from the rest of us. Join me in some soul-searching about, hey now, just how serious are these claims, anyway?
Think about how our own very real, very good, very human senses of empathy, compassion, and connection are being used to power an unfeeling corporation to promote brutality.
And then please, do your part to take that power away. Vote. #DeleteFacebook
