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Swift Reaction in Silicon Valley as More Facebook Fouls Exposed

by Renewed Protest at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park
On June 4th, digital privacy rights activists demonstrated at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Facebook is under renewed scrutiny this week after it was revealed that smartphone manufacturers had been given access to the private information of Facebook users and their friends.
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Facebook gave device makers deep access to data on users and their friends, it was revealed in recent days. Those partnerships were part of an effort to push more mobile users onto the social network starting in 2007, before stand-alone Facebook apps worked well on phones. Apple and Samsung are among dozens on the list of companies with access to personal data including, in some cases, user religious and political affiliation.

On June 5th, Facebook responded to US legislators' questions about Huawei, the third largest manufacturer of mobile phones globally. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tried to enter China for years in search of profits from a vast new market. As recently as 2016 Facebook was working creating its own censorship tool that would automatically suppress certain posts in China as part of the company's market expansion effort. (It may still be working on that tool). Under questioning, Facebook said it planned to end its relationship with Huawei by the end of this week.

In Menlo Park, California, home of Facebook headquarters, digital privacy rights watchdogs the Raging Grannies reacted to recent news with a demonstration at the social media giant’s campus. The Grannies said that Facebook’s track record on privacy and protecting user data is something they have been concerned about for many years. They protested in 2010 at the company headquarters when it was at a small location near Stanford University in Palo Alto. The company has expanded so rapidly that it is now on a massive campus bordering Palo Alto's Baylands Nature Preserve in Menlo Park.

The Raging Grannies lamented that after 8 years demonstrating about Facebook privacy issues, they are still at it. “What happened to the 2011 agreement with the FTC?” asked Menlo Park resident Granny Gail Sredanovic. “It’s high time the FTC acknowledged that Facebook broke that agreement.” On Monday, Facebook security personnel admonished protesters to leave the campus immediately, but the Grannies and allies stayed and waved signs in front of the windows of large private buses that were carrying employees to their homes in San Francisco and other parts of Bay Area.
§Heavy Wind on the Bayfront Expwy Where Facebook Resides
by Another Protest at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park
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§Headed to the massive campus
by Another Protest at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park
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The giant "like" sign in view
§Facing Facebook
by Another Protest at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park
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§Arriving on campus, protesters waved signs alongside employee transportation
by Another Protest at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park
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One of the perks of working at a major Silicon Valley company is a shuttle ride to work. Facebook, like Google, has a stable of large unmarked buses like the one seen here. As housing prices rise in the San Francisco Bay Area, angry activists have frequently targeted shuttles to protest the region's gentrification. Here, messages about Facebook's privacy policies are placed in full view of employees as bus after bus leaves the mega-campus. A long red light at the entrance/exit of Facebook HQ, created a captive audience for the demonstration.
§Grannies and Allies
by Another Protest at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park
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§Leaving a message
by Another Protest at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park
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§On the highway in front of FB HQ
by Another Protest at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park
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§This bus headed for San Francisco's Panhandle
by Protest at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park
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Tech employees get perks....free shuttle transportation to trendier locations than Menlo Park
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