[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #772: Would You Unfollow Everything?

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OPLIN 4Cast #772: Would You Unfollow Everything?
October 13th, 2021

[image: cluster of do not enter signs] Facebook had a very bad week last
week. Former product manager Frances Haugen was revealed to be the
whistleblower behind the Wall Street Journal's "Facebook Files"
investigation <https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039>,
telling senators that Facebook knows about but can't fix its problems, that
regulation is required because "Facebook is stuck in a feedback loop that
they can’t get out of
<https://www.popsci.com/technology/facebook-whistleblower-testifies/>." All
of Facebook and its main products—Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp—were
inaccessible for more than 5 hours on Monday
<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/technology/facebook-down.html> and again
for 2 hours Friday
<https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/10/08/facebook-messenger-outage-instagram-whatsapp-down/5995676001/>.


But what caught my attention was a small side story about "Unfollow
Everything," a Chrome extension that automates the process of resetting
your Facebook newsfeed. When you "unfollow" you don't "unfriend," so can
selectively re-add the things you want to see in your newsfeed, rather than
allow the Facebook algorithms to decide for you.

   -
   - Facebook Banned Me for Life Because I Help People Use It Less
   <https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/facebook-unfollow-everything-cease-desist.html>
   [*Slate*] "If lawmakers and regulators are serious about empowering
   users to stand up to big tech, they need to address the ways in which
   platforms stymie user choice, including through terms of service. Platforms
   shouldn’t be able to wield the threat of lawsuits and account suspensions
   against researchers and developers who create tools that merely empower
   users—but as my experience shows, they can and do."
   - Facebook shouldn't be in charge of how you use Facebook
   <https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/08/unfollow-everything/#shut-the-zuck-up>
   [*Pluralistic*] "Users who tried Unfollow Everything really liked it.
   They found themselves spending less time on Facebook, but enjoying the time
   they spent there a lot more. Both Barclay and his users felt 'addicted' to
   Facebook and this helped them 'control the addiction.'"
   - Facebook Permanently Bans 'Unfollow Everything' Developer
   <https://www.pcmag.com/news/facebook-permanently-bans-unfollow-everything-developer>
   [*PCMag*] "[Barclay] later collaborated with researchers at the
   University of Neuchâtel on a study that compared a group that cleared out
   their News Feed with Unfollow Everything to a control group that didn't.
   This appears to be what drew Facebook's ire."
   - Facebook bans developer behind Unfollow Everything tool
   <https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/8/22716044/facebook-unfollow-everything-tool-louis-barclay-banned-for-life>
   [*The Verge*] "[Facebook] wants to give people the feeling of control
   without letting them fully escape its grasp. The company is happy to let
   users unfollow people individually, but automating the process would make
   it too easy to opt-out of the News Feed, which is essential for keeping
   users coming back and lining Facebook’s pockets with advertising revenue.
   So, of course, tools like Barclay’s — even if they have limited uptake —
   are forbidden."

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - west, jessamyn. “Practical Technology. Banning, Blocking, and Botting
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=101614446&site=ehost-live>
   .” *Computers in Libraries*, vol. 35, no. 2, Mar. 2015, pp. 22–23.
   - Heaven, Douglas. “How to Burst Your Social Media Bubble
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sch&AN=136839088&site=ehost-live>
   .” *New Scientist*, vol. 242, no. 3232, June 2019, p. 17.
   - Stratton, Jess. "Learning Facebook: Report, block, and unfriend users
   <https://www.linkedin.com/learning-login/go?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elinkedin%2Ecom%2Flearning%2Flearning-facebook-3&authUUID=tWck%2FoxZRTK5CYLiWMj5jA%3D%3D&trk=learning_login_sign_in_with_library_card>."
   *LinkedIn Learning*, September 2019.

------------------------------
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