HowToStopFacebook.Org has been launched by public advocacy groups seeking to stop Facebook, as the website's name suggests.
Public advocacy groups behind the website include Fight for the Future and Electronic Frontier Foundation. Other groups behind the website include Center for Digital Democracy, Advocacy for Principled Action in Government, Indigenous Friends, and Simply Secure.
The aim of HowToStopFacebook.Org is to encourage members of Congress to investigate the social media giant and to pass actual data privacy law "that ends their harmful business model forever."
The launch of the website has been fueled by the testimony of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen during a hearing of Congress.
HowToStopFacebook.Org Website Launched
HowToStopFacebook.Org, a website that is pretty much self-explanatory as far as its purpose is concerned, has been launched by public advocacy groups.
These public advocacy groups included Fight for the Future, Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as "dozens of others," according to a report by Gizmodo. These dozens of others include Advocacy for Principled Action in Government, Center for Digital Democracy, and Simply Secure, among others.
The website mentions Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's Congress testimony, which the website says has shone "a light on the way that apps like Instagram and YouTube use algorithms that pick and choose what content to show us (and not show us) in order to keep us scrolling and clicking, to sell more ads."
"These dangerous algorithms use our own personal data to manipulate us," according to HowToStopFacebook.Org. The website adds that Facebook is hurting children and is even undermining democracy in the country.
What HowToStopFacebook.Org Wants Congress to Do
HowToStopFacebook.Org wants lawmakers "to investigate Facebook and pass a real data privacy law that ends their harmful business model forever."
The website is currently asking site visitors to sign a petition asking Facebook's "surveillance machine" to be shut down.
According to HowToStopFacebook.Org, "The best way to stop Facebook's harms for the whole world is to cut off the fuel supply for its dangerous machine."
The Facebook Whistleblower
Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill April 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. This is the second day of testimony before Congress by Zuckerberg, 33, after it was reported that 87 million Facebook users had their personal information harvested by Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm linked to the Trump campaign.
This latest issue that Facebook is currently facing started when The Wall Street Journal published a report that says the company has been aware of the harmful effects of Instagram on the mental health of its young users.
The internal research cited in the report actually came from Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee who went public on the TV show "60 minutes." Haugen has shared internal documents belonging to Facebook to journalists, lawmakers, and other groups.
Related Article: Facebook Whistleblower Goes Public, Says Facebook Prioritizes Profits Over Safety
Frances Haugen went on to testify in the Facebook hearing of Congress. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reacted to her testimony and allegations, saying that many allegations being made against his company do not make sense.
He likewise commented on the allegation that Facebook deliberately tries to make people angry for profit and called the allegation "deeply illogical."
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Isabella James
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