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When we sign on to Facebook we think we'll be sharing photos, music and thoughts only with friends of our choosing.
Many
people are worried about being over-sharers, and those two things —
what we share and with whom — are critical to keeping the Facebook
faith.It turns out we were signing up to giving out much more information about ourselves than we ever thought, and for it to be shared with a far wider audience.
Firstly — what we share.
As the site has developed and has become much more ubiquitous our profiles have become a treasure trove of secrets.
Facebook now knows what we like, who we like, where we go and what we search for, as well as effectively who we email or call (hello Facebook Messenger).
A single company having that information about 2 billion people is considered creepy enough. But the fact the information has been shared with an audience far wider than our friends is the part driving the #deletefacebook campaign.
Revelations that shadowy political operatives and companies that want to sell products to us have been given our premium information are causing global alarm.
Add to that issues around fake news, foreign interference in elections as well as hate speech and you can see why so much hinges on Mark Zuckerberg's appearance before the US Congress this week.
Zuckerberg no longer the tech darling
Mr Zuckerberg is used to being the tech darling — feted when he makes rare public appearances and not needing to front up to hard interviews.That changed after the Cambridge Analytica scandal and it'll get worse on Capitol Hill.
It's not a dinner party he'll want to show up empty handed to, and it wouldn't be surprising if he tried to take some of the sting out of the questioning by offering a security announcement.
There's still fury on both sides of the political aisle over the interference by foreign powers and fake news in the 2016 election.
Mr Zuckerberg will be facing a room full of determined questioners very much in their native environment.
It's one where politicians aided by hard-nosed political researchers are used to making a name for themselves, grilling everyone from captains of industry to spy chiefs.
A far cry from the usual tech conference where the speaker can set the tone and the questioners are often friendly.
Should Mr Zuckerberg fail there, his company could face huge fines or regulation that could significantly damage even this giant business.
Mr Zuckerberg would be well advised not to overshare.
Short, crisp answers and a healthy dose of contrition will be the status update least likely to inflict permanent damage.
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