I don't have Facebook or other social networking accounts and, despite regular pressure from friends, I don't plan on ever having them.
There are quite a few reasons for my position. I've posted in the past about my dislike of the solipsistic navel-gazing that these sites seem to foster. My random thoughts aren't very interesting and frankly yours aren't either.
Since those arguments don't seem to be persuasive enough, how about if we couch the entire mess in terms of security and privacy?
Aramco monitors our every keystroke at work. They track which applications people access from work, and the frequency of visits. Just a couple of weeks ago, certain people received an email from Aramco IT telling them to reduce their usage of Facebook, YouTube, and other social networking sites during working hours.
Aramco monitors our surfing, emails, and phone conversations from home too (they own the phone lines that we use). The mobile phone companies report usage stats and provide text content to the Saudi government--no judge's order is required. Like the US government, they have computer algorithms that scan emails, texts, and conversations for certain hot-button words. If you happen to get a little too frisky in your online presence, they sit up and take notice and begin monitoring every single thing you do online. Just last month an expat was terminated--he was given 48 hours to leave the country. He posted some items on Facebook in support of the demonstrations back in March in Bahrain and in KSA. Certainly a very stupid thing to do, but it turns out that isn't why he was fired as initial rumors had suggested. It was those postings, however, that caused Aramco to take a closer look at his online activity. It turns out that he was participating in some rather unsavory things that perhaps would have remained below the radar (apparently had for years) if he had not been so stupid as to use social networking sites in the first place.
As a result of that news, I removed three of my blog posts and will no longer comment about specific political issues in the Gulf region. Big Brother Aramco is always watching. Nothing is private or confidential in this company or this country.
Need more convincing? How about this snip from the warden message that I received from the American consulate this morning:
How sophisticated of an internet user are you? Do you know if Facebook or Flickr are geotagging your photos? Using image recognition software to identify people and places in those photos? Do you ever post comments about trips you plan to take and where and when you are going? I've been encouraged by friends to set up a "fake" Facebook account. Do you know the actual identity of every person who can view your Facebook page? Every account is tracked back to a real email somewhere with a real name on it. It doesn't take a superhacker to find that information out, or a genius IQ to set up a sufficiently believable "fake" Facebook account that would allow that person to lurk everywhere. They don't ever need to post, do they? They only need to look at what is being posted.
If you were in my position, would you want to take those kinds of chances?
I thought not.
Just say no.
There are quite a few reasons for my position. I've posted in the past about my dislike of the solipsistic navel-gazing that these sites seem to foster. My random thoughts aren't very interesting and frankly yours aren't either.
Since those arguments don't seem to be persuasive enough, how about if we couch the entire mess in terms of security and privacy?
Aramco monitors our every keystroke at work. They track which applications people access from work, and the frequency of visits. Just a couple of weeks ago, certain people received an email from Aramco IT telling them to reduce their usage of Facebook, YouTube, and other social networking sites during working hours.
Aramco monitors our surfing, emails, and phone conversations from home too (they own the phone lines that we use). The mobile phone companies report usage stats and provide text content to the Saudi government--no judge's order is required. Like the US government, they have computer algorithms that scan emails, texts, and conversations for certain hot-button words. If you happen to get a little too frisky in your online presence, they sit up and take notice and begin monitoring every single thing you do online. Just last month an expat was terminated--he was given 48 hours to leave the country. He posted some items on Facebook in support of the demonstrations back in March in Bahrain and in KSA. Certainly a very stupid thing to do, but it turns out that isn't why he was fired as initial rumors had suggested. It was those postings, however, that caused Aramco to take a closer look at his online activity. It turns out that he was participating in some rather unsavory things that perhaps would have remained below the radar (apparently had for years) if he had not been so stupid as to use social networking sites in the first place.
As a result of that news, I removed three of my blog posts and will no longer comment about specific political issues in the Gulf region. Big Brother Aramco is always watching. Nothing is private or confidential in this company or this country.
Need more convincing? How about this snip from the warden message that I received from the American consulate this morning:
WARDEN MESSAGEJune 14, 2011
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, the Consulate General in Dhahran and the Consulate General in Jeddah request that wardens pass the following message in its entirety to the U.S. citizen community:
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, the Consulate General in Dhahran and the Consulate General in Jeddah would like to remind U.S. citizens of the security situation in Saudi Arabia and of recommended security precautions. The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to consider carefully the risks of traveling to Saudi Arabia. There is an ongoing security threat due to the continued presence of terrorist groups, some affiliated with al Qaida, who may target Western interests, housing compounds, hotels, shopping areas and other facilities where Westerners congregate. These terrorist groups may employ a wide variety of tactics. Most recently, al Qa’ida’s central leadership’s media wing, al-Sahab, released a 100-minute documentary calling for extremists to carry out individual “lone-wolf”-styled attacks in western countries, (specifically naming the United States, the UK, and France), and have distributed it widely on jihadist forums and mainstream video sites.
The United States Mission reminds U.S. citizens that publicly available information can be exploited by terrorist groups employing lone-wolf tactics. Unlike other means of acquiring information on a target, such as surveillance, this type of information gathering requires no training. The Internet can be used to ascertain biographical data, pictures, and addresses of U.S. citizens. In addition to company and other websites, social media can disclose damaging information. Biographical data is often easy to find. In addition, posting pictures can identify your frequent destinations and acquaintances through tagging. Many social media users also unknowingly post geotagged photos, revealing the exact locations where the pictures were taken. U.S. citizens should remain cautious and vigilant about personal information that is shared publicly, in the best interest of personal security.
How sophisticated of an internet user are you? Do you know if Facebook or Flickr are geotagging your photos? Using image recognition software to identify people and places in those photos? Do you ever post comments about trips you plan to take and where and when you are going? I've been encouraged by friends to set up a "fake" Facebook account. Do you know the actual identity of every person who can view your Facebook page? Every account is tracked back to a real email somewhere with a real name on it. It doesn't take a superhacker to find that information out, or a genius IQ to set up a sufficiently believable "fake" Facebook account that would allow that person to lurk everywhere. They don't ever need to post, do they? They only need to look at what is being posted.
If you were in my position, would you want to take those kinds of chances?
I thought not.
Just say no.
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