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| Viva la revolution! (a photoshopped Mark Zuckerberg) |
Interesting read over at the
Atlantic which builds the swirling debate over just how important a role Silicon Valley tech companies, like Facebook and Twitter, played in the recent overthrow of Tunisia's government.
From the article:
There has been a lot of debate about whether Twitter helped unleash the massive changes that led Ben Ali to leave office on January 14, but Facebook appears to have played a more important role in spreading dissent.
"I think Facebook played a bigger role in this case," said Jillian York of the Berkman Center for the Internet and Society, who has been tracking the Tunisian situation closely. "There are a lot more Facebook users than Twitter users. Facebook allows for strong ties in a way that Twitter doesn't. You're not just conversing."
The Atlantic article also addresses Facebook's response to attempted hacks, presumably by the notorious Ammar (Tunisia's secret police operation).
From Facebook's Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan:
"We get requests all the time in a few different contexts where people would like to impersonate someone else. Police wanting to go undercover or human rights activists, say," Sullivan said. "And we, just based on our core mission and core product, don't want to allow that. That's just not what Facebook is. Facebook is a place where people connect with real people in their lives using their real identities."
Anyone still wondering why in addition to Twitter and Facebook,
China also blocks its citizens from using YouTube and Skype?
