Andy Wibbels

‘Fascist’ Facebook Blocks the Word Wadja.com

Mario Skyped me thusly:

If you send an email through facebook containing the keyword “wadja.com” … your message will be blocked. I really don’t know if the same happens with other social networks, but i call this Fascism. Blogs and twits should spread the word. It’s serious…. Note: Wadja is a new (killer)startup, a mobile social network, based in Athens. It’s not a small one. It has more than 1 million registered users (1,300,000 from 220 countries), and it’s developing quite fast. Check what official wadja blog says on the subject.

It isn’t necessarily fascist when the free service you depend on to provide free uninterrupted free open and unfettered free services for free decides it’d rather be more competitive and censor mentions of a competitor.
Do people really think Facebook is that nice and friendly?
Just because the architecture of the web is open and free doesn’t mean every website will be.
Yes it sucks that Facebook is putting it’s own survival ahead of functionality. And you can bet the system admins rolled their eyes when asked to put this on the blacklist. That or the legal team can manage the blacklist all by themselves.
Facebook is not a democracy my friends. It is not an open society. That doesnt’ make it fascist – it makes it a company that is trying to figure out how to make money so they can get bought by somebody and everyone can retire to a hookers/blow sunset.
Now if we’re talking abolishing habeas corpus, using the Geneva Conventions as toilet paper and imperialistic pre-emptive invasions and double-wide strollers? That’s fascist.

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Andy Wibbels

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5 responses to “‘Fascist’ Facebook Blocks the Word Wadja.com”

  1. Ezra Butler Avatar
    Ezra Butler

    I must agree with you, yet disagree with you.
    The word “facist” (or “facist pig”, et al) is way overused these days.
    But I do disagree with your analysis of Facebook not being an open society (or democracy).
    Even if you offer an advertisement based service, (which, in theory, they are; they are trying to figure out different ways to monetize their brand), and Coke would be an advertiser, it would not be moral to filter all references to Pepsi.
    Along the same lines, like Americans, people use facebook under the “understanding” (whether real or fictional) that they can write what they want and lead the life they want to on the service.
    The only question is: where the letters that were being sent “invitations” to wadja.com or simply references/hyperlinks to it. I can understand if someone (e.g. America) would be against subterfuge within its ranks (someone in the state department recruiting moles for Al Qaeda), but I can not understand a police state that would forbid the mention of Al Qaeda in the newspaper.
    What I do think is the greater issue here, is that this means that facebook (allegedly) filters (and “reads”) all correspondence. This isn’t facism, this may just lead people not to write sensitive sorts of messages on facebook. Which would hurt the bottom line.
    It would be smarter for facebook to monetize that function than to exploit it for these sorts of uses.
    For instance, if someone is sent a wadja invite – “happen” to give him a free extra gift that day. Make him want to stay, not fee that the “Man” is keeping him down.
    Positive PR, not negative.

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  2. Andy Wibbels Avatar
    Andy Wibbels

    Is filtering reading?

    Reply
  3. Andy Wibbels Avatar
    Andy Wibbels

    Crap – I meant pre-emptive, not pre-eminent. Fixed.

    Reply
  4. Pavlos Avatar
    Pavlos

    If Facebook doesn’t want to be critisized for censoring (facsism), then they shouldn’t have placed themselves as a “modern communication platform” (see M.Zuckerberg’s quote from South by Southwest Interactive). Can you imagine talking on the phone and certain words are covered with a beeeep?

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  5. Dave E Avatar
    Dave E

    Why doesn’t facebook let me judge for myself what is spam and what is not. For all they know I may want the invite a friend sends me from Wadja or Yuwie. Oh and why block the term in the IM??? IM is a pure friend to friend app? The problem here is that people view facebook as a big hypocrite because they spam the crap out of everyone, in and out of their network. I personally am sick of the stupid facebook invites and facebook app, I mean they cause such a spam problem that facebook itself is redesigning their profiles. Facebook can block anyone it wants, that is their right to do so, but don’t you dare call your self a communication enabler or social utility that helps users communicate because, banning any words automatically debunks you from this list. A communication company cannot exercise such restrictions, it would be like Verizon bleeping everytime someone said ATT&T, how well would that go down?

    Reply

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