Is Facebook evil? Video

To play this video, you need Javascript enabled and the latest version of Flash installed. Install Flash now
Is Facebook evil?
Created: 02/19/2009
Video description: Facebook keeps saying we just don't "understand" their seemingly constant privacy violations, but are they actually just plain evil? Buzz investigates.

Is Facebook evil? Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Molly Wood, and welcome to the Buzz Report ? the show about the tech news that everybody?s talking about. This week, that?s Facebook, cell phones, and something called Twestival. But let?s get started with the Gadget of the Week. The Gadget of the Week comes from the Mobile World Congress cell phone show in Barcelona this week ? the Samsung Blue Earth touchscreen phone. It?s extremely gorgeous, it?s made from recycled plastic, it has an Eco mode that uses less energy ? and it has a SOLAR PANEL ON THE BACK FOR CHARGING. Yep. PLUS gorgeous, unlike that Motorola Renew we checked out last week. Mmm-hmm. Well played, Samsung. Well played. Now, to the news. Speaking of saving the world, Buzz Repoort Special Correspondent Natali del Conte reports in from a very special dot com party. ?Welcome to Twestival New York? Ah, remember when all the internet a-holes used to go to dot com parties and just get all wasted? Well now they are all grown up and giving to charity. Oh Bill Gates, you?re such a good influence. A judge dismissed a privacy lawsuit against Google this week. Christine and Aaron Boring had accused Google of violating their privacy by putting pictures of their house on Google StreetView, even though they lived on a private road. The judge found the Borings had no case, and, impressively, managed not to sneak in ANY snotty references to their name. Nintendo launches the new DSi on April 5 in the United States. It?s the third version of the most popular portable gaming device in the known universe. If you pre-order now, you could have one by Christmas of 2012! And finally, in Barcelona this week, the GSM Association revealed specs for a universal mobile phone charger that would use a micro-USB connection. It would also be much more energy- efficient than other chargers, and of course reduce waste. Most major phone-makers have signed on to the standard, and most phones around the world will use the universal charger by 2012. Except Apple phones. Apple is not on board with this. Because they hate the earth, they hate industry standards, and they hate you. I mean. What else am I supposed to think? F**k you, too, Apple. And now, for the big buzz of the week. Facebook clogged the tubes big time over the weekend when it changed its Terms of Service for the site. The NEW terms said, in a nutshell, Facebook has a permanent license to everything you post on the site for ANY purpose, even though they only PLAN to use your stuff to promote Facebook. AND, they have the permanent right to your content EVEN IF IT?S ON YOUR OWN WEBSITE, as long as you have a ?share this on Facebook? LINK on that page. Ok, as many people pointed out, the New York Times, CNET, and god knows how many other sites have that link on their pages, so ? did they ? I mean. Who ? is in charge over there? Luckily, like EVERY time Facebook ties your privacy to the tracks, our hero arrived. Furious Facebook users. Later in the week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg rolled back the new terms of service, issued his usual line about how they could have communicated things better, and said they were working on some new terms of service that everybody could understand without freaking out. Yeah, you know what? Mr. Facebook? The problem isn?t that we DON?T understand this crap you keep pulling. The PROBLEM ? is that we DO. That?s the Buzz Report for this week, everyone. I?m Molly Wood, and thanks for watching.

Related Videos

Buzz Report: Farewell to the Facebook

Privacy fears about Facebook just keep cropping up--and Buzz Report is getting off that crazy train!

Ep. 82: All your info are belong to Google

Download.com editor Jaymar Cabebe joins us as we discuss who's making money on Android, upcoming phones, and whether Google's new privacy policy violates its own "Don't be evil" mantra.

The Queue: Your information is private with us

Search engine privacy in terms you can actually understand, Skype on the iPhone, a parking meter that tickets violators, and answering the "What should you be doing?" question.

Buzz Report: Halloween edition

This week, our entire show is devoted to news that terrifies us, like Dolly Parton and evil artificial intelligence.

Buzz Report: The blackness of space (travelers)

The world's gone nuts. Astronauts are trying to kill people, Steve Jobs and the Beatles are BFF, and Microsoft is acting evil! Well, ok, some things are still normal.

Today in Tech History: July 6, 2008

That evil, evil AK-47, and messages to space.

Ep. 1260: Flying car-maggeddon

I think we can all agree on one thing: flying cars may be cool, but it's going to be a slaughter in the skies--at least at first. Also, the Verizon iPhone is here again! Yay! We'll believe it when we see it, just like we'll believe that Google Me is real and a real competitor to Facebook when we see it and when Google manages to understand actual humans and what they want in a social network. But hey, fingers crossed!

Google Buzz vs. your privacy

Last week, Google launched Buzz, a status update tool with elements of Twitter, Facebook, and Friendfeed in it. When the app first launched, it's fair to say it was a little too eager to use and share the details of users' personal networks. What was Google thinking? We have two guests to discuss: Mike Yang, Managing Product Counsel for Google, and Jared Kaprove a fellow at EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Get started with Facebook Timeline

Learn about the new Facebook profile, Timeline, how to configure it, and ways to keep your privacy in check.

Buzz Report: A little Apple, a lotta Google

The iPod hits just keep on coming--or do they? Meanwhile, is Google Earth all too likely? That and more on this week's Buzz Report.