In a recent post we dealt with the “war” that has broken out over the facebook algorithm and how – according to critics – the logic with which this algorithm works has a divisive effect on society.
But the issue is deeper. It is not the algorithm, but what feeds it, that is, user data. And the news came to confirm this very aspect.
Apparently, the launch of Facebook Dating in Europe has nothing to do with the above, right? Wrong! This feature, which will obviously put a huge pressure on the other dating applications, comes to us with a dowry of 1.5 billion (!) matches created by the application so far in the 20 countries that it is already available.
In fact the promotional spin is that with so much data that Facebook has on users, it makes sense to find the most suitable match for everyone. One could say that in this case the algorithm comes to unite people and not to divide them, as skeptics claim.
But behind the unifying or divisive function of the algorithm, it becomes clear again that the big issue regarding social media is one: user data, who uses it and how, who sells it and how our rights are ultimately protected.
