{"id":80307,"date":"2020-10-02T15:55:17","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T12:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/facebook-merging-messenger-and-instagram-chat-only-benefits-zuckerberg-not-you\/"},"modified":"2020-10-02T15:55:17","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T12:55:17","slug":"facebook-merging-messenger-and-instagram-chat-only-benefits-zuckerberg-not-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/facebook-merging-messenger-and-instagram-chat-only-benefits-zuckerberg-not-you\/","title":{"rendered":"#Facebook merging Messenger and Instagram chat only benefits Zuckerberg \u2014 not you"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a414f8c80b2c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a414f8c80b2c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/facebook-merging-messenger-and-instagram-chat-only-benefits-zuckerberg-not-you\/#Together_with_Facebook_247\" >Together, with Facebook, 24\/7<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/facebook-merging-messenger-and-instagram-chat-only-benefits-zuckerberg-not-you\/#Why_this_is_good_for_Mark_Zuckerberg\" >Why this is good for Mark Zuckerberg<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/facebook-merging-messenger-and-instagram-chat-only-benefits-zuckerberg-not-you\/#100_billion_messages_a_day\" >100 billion messages a day<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> merging Messenger and Instagram chat only benefits Zuckerberg \u2014 not you<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"post-featuredImage u-m-1_5\">\n                                                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook merging Messenger and Instagram chat only benefits Zuckerberg \u2014 not you\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/image-5-1-796x417.png\"\/><br \/>\n        Credit:<br \/>\n        Unsplash (edited)\n                                        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n                            Facebook Messenger and Instagram\u2019s direct messaging services will be integrated into one system, Facebook has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/about.instagram.com\/blog\/announcements\/say-hi-to-messenger-introducing-new-messaging-features-for-instagram\">announced<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The merge will allow shared messaging across both platforms, as well as video calls and the use of a range of tools drawn from both platforms. It\u2019s currently being rolled out across countries on an opt-in basis, but hasn\u2019t yet reached Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/notes\/mark-zuckerberg\/a-privacy-focused-vision-for-social-networking\/10156700570096634\/\">announced<\/a> plans in March last year to integrate Messenger, Instagram Direct and Whats<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a> into a unified messaging experience.<\/p>\n<p>At the crux of this was the goal to administer end-to-end encryption across the whole messaging \u201cecosystem\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Ostensibly, this was part of Facebook\u2019s renewed focus on privacy, in the wake of several highly published scandals. Most notable was its poor data protection that allowed political consulting firm <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2018\/mar\/17\/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election\">Cambridge Analytica<\/a> to steal data from 87 million Facebook accounts and use it to target users with political ads ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2020\/09\/new-messaging-features-for-instagram\/\">statement<\/a> released yesterday on the new merge, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri and Messenger vice president Stan Chudnovsky wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u2026 one out of three people sometimes find it difficult to remember where to find a certain conversation thread. With this update, it will be even easier to stay connected without thinking about which app to use to reach your friends and family.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>While that may seem harmless, it\u2019s likely Facebook is actually attempting to make its apps inseparable, ahead of a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-09-15\/ftc-said-to-prepare-possible-antitrust-lawsuit-against-facebook\">potential anti-trust lawsuit<\/a> in the US that may try to see the company sell Instagram and WhatsApp.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Together_with_Facebook_247\"><\/span>Together, with Facebook, 24\/7<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Messenger\/Instagram Direct merge will <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/facebook-messenger-instagram\/\">extend to<\/a> features rolled out during the pandemic, such as the \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2020\/09\/introducing-watch-together-on-messenger\/\">Watch Together<\/a>\u201d tool for Messenger. As the name suggests, this lets users watch videos together in real time. Now, both Messenger and Instagram users will be able to use it, regardless of which app they\u2019re on.<\/p>\n<p>With the integration, new privacy challenges emerge. Facebook has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2020\/09\/privacy-matters-cross-app-communication\/\">already acknowledged<\/a> this. And these challenges will present despite Facebook\u2019s overarching privacy policy applying to every app in its app \u201cfamily\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in the new merged messaging ecosystem, a user you previously blocked on Messenger won\u2019t automatically be blocked on Instagram. Thus, the blocked person will be able to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2020\/09\/privacy-matters-cross-app-communication\/\">once again contact you<\/a>. This could open doors to a plethora of unexpected online abuse.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_this_is_good_for_Mark_Zuckerberg\"><\/span>Why this is good for Mark Zuckerberg<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This first step \u2013 and Facebook\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/notes\/mark-zuckerberg\/a-privacy-focused-vision-for-social-networking\/10156700570096634\/\">full roadmap<\/a> for the encrypted integration of WhatsApp, Instagram Direct and Messenger \u2013 has three clear outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, end-to-end encryption means Facebook will have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/press-release\/file\/1207081\/download\">complete deniability<\/a> for anything that <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>s across its messaging tools.<\/p>\n<p>It won\u2019t be able to \u201csee\u201d the messages. While this might be good from a user privacy perspective, it also means anything from bullying, to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/milwaukeenns.org\/2014\/05\/21\/special-report-diploma-mill-scams-continue-to-plague-milwaukees-adult-students\/\">scams<\/a>, to illegal drug sales, to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-ednc\/pr\/jacksonville-man-sentenced-child-pornography-case\">paedophilia<\/a> can\u2019t be policed if it happens via these tools.<\/p>\n<p>This would stop Facebook being blamed for hurtful or illegal uses of its services. As far as moderating the platform goes, Facebook would effectively become \u201cinvisible\u201d (not to mention moderation is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/2056305120948186\">expensive and complicated<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>This is all great <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> for Mark Zuckerberg, especially as Facebook stares down the barrel of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2020\/7\/29\/21335706\/antitrust-hearing-highlights-facebook-google-amazon-apple-congress-testimony\">potential anti-trust litigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, once the apps are merged, functionally they will no longer be separate platforms. They will still <em>exist<\/em> as separate apps with some separate features, but the vast amount of personal data underpinning them will live in one giant, shared database.<\/p>\n<p>Deeper data integration will let Facebook know users more intimately. Moreover, it will be able to leverage this new insight to target users with more advertising and expand further.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, and perhaps most concerning, is that by integrating its apps Facebook could legitimately respond to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/ftc-preparing-possible-antitrust-suit-against-facebook-11600211840\">anti-trust lawsuits<\/a> by saying it can\u2019t separate Instagram or WhatsApp from the main Facebook platform \u2013 because they\u2019re the same thing now.<\/p>\n<p>And if they can\u2019t be separated, there\u2019s no way Facebook could sell Instagram or WhatsApp, even if it wanted to.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"100_billion_messages_a_day\"><\/span>100 billion messages a day<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The messaging traffic across Facebook\u2019s platforms <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2020\/09\/new-messaging-features-for-instagram\/\">is vast<\/a>, with more than 100 billion messages sent daily. And this has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.warc.com\/newsandopinion\/news\/pandemic-lifts-social-media-use-but-for-how-long\/43552\">only<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2020\/04\/07\/technology\/coronavirus-internet-use.html\">increased<\/a> during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>With the sheer size of its user database, Facebook continues to either purchase, or squash, its competition. Concerns about the company being a monopoly aren\u2019t without merit.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2018\/9\/4\/17816572\/tim-wu-facebook-regulation-interview-curse-of-bigness-antitrust\">Researchers<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/5\/9\/18538106\/facebook-co-founder-chris-hughes-breakup-regulation-ftc-us-government\">founding Facebook employees<\/a> have called to have the company split up \u2013 and for Instagram and Whatsapp to become separate again.<\/p>\n<p>Just a few months ago, Facebook released its Instagram-housed tool <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/about.instagram.com\/blog\/announcements\/introducing-instagram-reels-announcement\">Reels<\/a> which bears a striking resemblance to TikTok, another social app sweeping the globe.<\/p>\n<p>It seems this is just another example of Facebook trying to use the sheer size of its network to stifle growing competition, aided (perhaps unwittingly) by Donald Trump\u2019s anti-China sentiment.<\/p>\n<p>If competition is important to encouraging innovation and diversity, then the newest development from Facebook discourages both these things. It further entrenches Facebook and its services into the lives of consumers, making it harder to pull away. And this certainly isn\u2019t far from monopolistic behavior.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/tama-leaver-1798\">Tama Leaver<\/a>, Associate Professor in Internet Studies, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/curtin-university-873\">Curtin University<\/a>\u00a0under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/facebook-is-merging-messenger-and-instagram-chat-features-its-for-zuckerbergs-benefit-not-yours-147261\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/syndication\/2020\/10\/02\/facebook-merging-messenger-and-instagram-chat-only-benefits-zuckerberg-not-you\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Facebook merging Messenger and Instagram chat only benefits Zuckerberg \u2014 not you&#8221; Credit: Unsplash (edited) Facebook Messenger and Instagram\u2019s direct messaging services will be integrated into one system, Facebook has announced. The merge will allow shared messaging across both platforms, as well as video calls and the use of a range of tools drawn from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/image-5-1.png&signature=2d95cd9f293dfd3f688e15d079ba9977","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[4974,33423,73991,5077,70759],"class_list":["post-80307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-facebook","tag-instagram","tag-internet-forum","tag-mark-zuckerberg","tag-tech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}