Author: Maxwell Kershner

End The Loop

Have you ever found yourself stuck in an endless loop of viewing social media posts as time flies by? It’s likely. On average, people spend about 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media daily, that is 144 minutes. It is time for users to take back control of their daily lives. But how? Well, Ethan Zuckerman is at the forefront of empowering users to control their social media algorithms.

 

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Unfollow Everything 2.0

When users of Facebook friend request another person upon being accepted, they automatically “follow” the person. This means they will see all their posts on their Home Page. Following every page, friend, or group you are involved with is what creates the infinite loop of posts users get sucked into. Right now, there is no extension or tool that gives users the ability to combat infinite scrolling on social media platforms.

Ethan Zuckerman is in the process of creating a browser extension that lets Facebook users unfollow all of their friends, groups, and pages with the click of a button. 

Here’s how it works: When a user activates the browser extension, Unfollow Everything 2.0 causes the user’s browser to retrieve their list of friends, groups, and pages from Facebook. The tool would then comb through the “followed” list, causing the browser to ask Facebook to unfollow each friend, group, or page on the users list. The tool would allow the user to select friends, groups, and pages to refollow or gives the option keep their newsfeed blank and view only content that they seek out. It would also encrypt the user’s “followed“ list and save it locally on the user’s device, which would allow the user to keep the list private while still being able to automatically reverse the unfollowing process. By unfollowing everything, users can eliminate their entire News Feed. This leaves them free to use Facebook without the feed or to more actively curate it by refollowing only those friends and groups whose posts they really want to see.

Note that this isn’t the same as unfriending. By unfollowing their friends, groups, and pages, users remain connected to them and can look up their profiles at their convenience.

Tools like Unfollow Everything 2.0 can help users have better and safer online experiences by allowing them to gain control of their feeds without the involvement of government regulation.

 

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Unfollow Everything 1.0

The original version of the tool ” Unfollow Everything 1.0” was created by British developer Louis Barclay in 2021. Barclay believed that unfollowing everything but remaining friends with everyone on the app and staying in all the user-joined groups forced users to use Facebook deliberately rather than as an endless time-suck.“I still remember the feeling of unfollowing everything for the first time. It was near-miraculous. I had lost nothing, since I could still see my favorite friends and groups by going to them directly. But I had gained a staggering amount of control. I was no longer tempted to scroll down an infinite feed of content. The time I spent on Facebook decreased dramatically. Overnight, my Facebook addiction became manageable.”

Barclay eventually received a cease and desist letter and was permanently banned from using the Facebook platform. Meta claims he violated their terms of service.

Meta’s Current Model

Currently, there is no way for users to not automatically follow every friend, page, and group on Facebook that they have liked or befriended, forcing the endless feed of posts users to see on their timelines.

Metas’ steps to unfollow everything involve manually going through each friend, group, or business and clicking the unfollow button. This task can take hours as users tend to have hundreds of connections; this is likely deterring users from going through the extensive process of regaining control over their social media algorithm.

Meta unfollow someone’s profile Directions:

  • Go to that profile by typing their profile name into the search bar at the top of Facebook.
  • Click at the top of their profile.
  • Click Unfriend/Unfollow, then Confirm

 

 

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Making a Change:

Unfollow Everything 2.0 filed a preemptive lawsuit asking the court to determine whether Facebook users’ news feeds contain objectionable material that users should be able to filter out to enjoy the platform. They argue that Unfollow Everything 2.0 is the type of tool Section 230(c)(2) intended to encourage by giving users more control over their online experiences and adequate ability to filter out content they do not want.

Zuckerman explains users currently have little to no control over how they use social media networks. “We basically get whatever controls Facebook wants. And that’s actually pretty different from how the internet has worked historically.“

Meta, in its defense against Unfollow Everything 2.0 (Ethan Zuckerman), is pushing the court to rule that a platform such as Facebook can circumvent Section 230(c)(2) through its terms of service.

Section 230

Section 230 is known for providing immunity for online computer services regarding third-party content users generate. Section 230(c)(1): “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”  While Section 230(c)(1) has been a commonly litigated topic, Section 230(c)(2) however, has been rarely discussed in front of the courts.

So what is Section 230(c)(2)? Section 230(c)(2) was adopted to allow users to regulate their online experiences through technological means, including tools like Unfollow Everything 2.0.  Force V. Facebook (2019) discretions that Section 230(c)(2)(B) provides immunity from claims based on actions that “enable or make available to . . . others the technical means to restrict access to” the same categories of “objectionable” material.  Essentially, Section 230(c)(2)(B) empowers people to have control over their online experiences by providing immunity to the  3rd party developers of extensions/tools that users can use with social networking platforms such as Facebook.

 

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Timeline of Litigation

May 1, 2024: Zuckerman filed a lawsuit asking the court to recognize that Section 230 protects the development of tools that empower social media users to control what they see online.

July 15, 2024: Meta filed a motion to dismiss on the lack of Zuckerman’s standing at the current time.

August 29, 2024: Zuckerman filed an opposition to Meta’s motion to dismiss.

November 7, 2024: Dismissed. However, the researcher could file at a later date because his tool was not complete at the time of the suit. Once developed, it will likely test the law.

Why social media companies do not want this:

Companies like Meta want to prevent these 3rd party extensions as much as possible because it’s in their best interest to continuously keep users engaged. Keeping users on their platform allows Meta to display more advertisements, which is their primary source of revenue. Meta’s large scale of users gives advertisers an excellent opportunity to have their message reach a broad audience. For example, in 2023, Meta generated $134 billion in revenue, 98% of which came from advertising. By making it difficult for users to control their feed adequately, Meta can make more money. If the extension of Unfollow Everything was released to the public, Meta would likely need to shift their prioritization model.

The potential future of section 230:

What’s next? In the event that the court rules in favor of Zuckerman in a future trial, giving users an expanded ability to control their social mediaitIt likely isn’t the end of the problem. Social Media Platforms have previously changed their algorithms to prevent third-party tools from being used on platforms. For example, X (then Twitter)  put an end to Block Party‘s user tool by changing its API (Application Programming Interface) pricing.

Lawmakers will need to step in to fortify users’ control over their Social media algorithms. It is unreasonable to forsee the massive media conglomerates willingly giving up control that would negatively affect their ability to generate revenue.

For now, if users wish to take the initiative and control their social media usage, Android and Apple allow their consumers to regulate specific app usage in their phone settings.

Meta AI: Innovation, but at what cost?

Artificial Intelligence has become the cutting edge of technology for decades to come, and to this point, nobody knows its complete capabilities. AI is limitless. The more recent advancements include Social Media Companies developing their own AI configurations to enhance the user’s experiences and allows users to use AI to do tasks like text/image generation, assist users navigation through the app, and more.  So what’s the issue? Well, companies like Meta are creating their own AI for their platforms as open-sourced models which can pose significant privacy risks to their users.

What is Meta & Meta AI?

Meta which was formerly known as “The Facebook Inc.” rebranded to encompass a variety of platforms under one corporation which includes relevant social networks such as Instagram and WhatsApp. Both are commonly known social media platforms that also connect millions of people around the globe. Meta developed their AI platform “Meta AI” in April of 2024 which can do things like Answer questions, Generate photos, Search Instagram reels, Provide emotional support, Assist with tasks like solving scholastic problems, write emails, and more.

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Open-Source V. Closed-Source

Meta has established that their AI is an open-source model, but what’s the difference? Well, AI can be either an open-sourced or closed-sourced. An open-sourced AI Model means that the data and software are publicly available to anyone. By sharing code and data, developers can learn from each other and continue to innovate the AI model. Users of an open-source AI Model have the ability to examine the AI systems they use, which can promote transparency. However, there can be difficulties in regulating bad actors.

Closed-sourced models keep their data and software secret strictly to their owners and developers. By keeping their code and data secret, closed-source AI companies can protect their trade secrets and prevent unauthorized access or copying. Closed-source AI, however, tends to be less innovative as 3rd party developers cannot contribute to future technological advancements of the AI model. It is also difficult for users to examine and patrol the model because they  do not have access to the data inputted and the software.

The Cost:

In order to train this open sourced model Meta used a variety of users data. What data exactly Meta is taking from you? Well to highlight some of the controversial data they are taking, it includes: Content that users create, Messages users send and receive that aren’t end-to-end encrypted, users engagement with posts, Purchases users make through meta, users Contact Info, Device information, GPS location, IP Address, and Cookie Data. All of which according to their privacy policy are permitted for their use. Meta disclaims in their privacy policy that “Meta may share certain information about you that is processed when using the AI’s with third parties who help us provide you with more relevant or useful responses.”This includes personal information.

By Meta being committed to open-sourcing their AI they pose a great privacy risk to their users. While they have already noted that they may share personal information with 3rd parties in certain situations, outside developers have the opportunity to expose vulnerabilities within their algorithm by reverse-engineering the code to extract data that the Algorithm was trained with. Which in Meta’s case, can involve the personal information of the users that they used to train the model. Additionally, 3rd parties will also now have access to a wide variety of consumer information without consumers’ giving direct consent to them. Companies can then use this information to their commercial advantage. 

Meta has stated that they have taken exemplary steps in order to ensure the protection of their user’s data from third parties. This includes the development of third-party oversight and management programs that mitigate risk and implement what they believe to be the necessary steps to do so. To note, Facebook has been breached on more than one occasion, most notably in relation to the Cambridge Analytica Scandal. where Cambridge Analytica stole more than 10 million users of Facebook personal information for voter profiling and targeting.

Innovative:

Upon release, there were privacy concerns amongst users since Meta’s AI model was open-sourced. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta issued a public statement highlighting the benefits of their AI model being open-sourced, to summarize:

  1. Open-sourced AI is good for developers because it gives them the technological freedom to control the software, and open-source models are developing at a faster rate than closed models. 
  2. The model will all meta to continue to be competitive, allowing them to spend more money on research. 
  3. By being open-sourced it gives the world an opportunity for economic growth and better security for everyone because it will allow Meta to be at the forefront of AI advancement.

Effectively, Metas’ open-source model is beneficial to ensure consistent technological achievement for the company.

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What Users Can Do:

In reality, it is difficult to regulate open-sourced AI from bad actors. Therefore, governmental action is needed to protect users personal data from being exploited. Recently 12 states have taken initiative to protect users. For example, the State of California amended the CCPA to protect users’ personal information for the usage of training AI models. Imposing that users must affirmatively authorize the usage of their info, otherwise, it is prohibited. As for the rest of the nation, there is little to none state or federal regulation regarding users’ privacy, The American Data and Protection Act failed to pass a congressional vote, therefore rendering millions of people defenseless.

For users who are looking to stop Meta from using their data, there is no sort of opt-out button across the United States. However, according to Meta, depending on a user’s setting preferences, a photo or post can be stopped from being used by making them Private. Unfortunately, this is not retroactive and all previous data will not be removed from the model. 

While Meta looks to be at the forefront of AI, their open-sourced model poses serious security risks for their users due to lack of regulation and questionable protection.

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