Portal against privacy

Facebook just launched a new home video camera, called Portal, that will allow two-way video chats with your Facebook “friends” from your home.

It consists of a high-resolution video camera, a tablet-sized screen, and a highly sensitive microphone.

It’s voice-activated, which means its microphone is always on and always listening for a cue phrase. Its camera uses artificial intelligence to track your movements inside your home.

And Facebook is hoping you’ll put it on your kitchen counter… or in your living room.

The Zuck promises that Portal won’t spy on you…

The Portal sales page says Facebook encrypts your video calls. It also says it doesn’t use the facial recognition software Facebook deployed on its online platform… and that it doesn’t store your calls.

But as any thinking person knows, Facebook is a surveillance company disguised as a social media company. It exists to extract your personal data and then sell it to the highest bidder.

Think about how much Facebook knows about you – who your friends are… what political party you support… what news you read… whom you vote for… what you look like… what your voice sounds like… where you are in the world at any given moment… what your hobbies are… where you like to vacation… if you’re single or in a relationship.

Facebook has gone so far as to patent what it calls “Socioeconomic Group Classification Based on User Features.” It mines – or analyzes – the personal data it stores on you to tell whether you’re “working class,” “middle class,” or “upper class.”

Now think about how much you know about Facebook.

Its algorithms are a closely guarded secret. What news it chooses to feed you – and what news it chooses to keep you from reading – is a mystery. Who it’s selling your personal data to is hush-hush.

Will you buy Portal?