The Dark Web Casts a Shadow Toward Facebook
October 13, 2016
I read “Facebook Marketplace Becomes Black Market for Drugs and Guns.” The Dark Web is small, sort of a hassle, and generally disappointing for some of its most enthusiastic cheerleaders.
What’s that mean?
According to the write up:
Facebook launched Marketplace on Monday, October 3, offering users the opportunity to buy and sell items within their local community. On the day of its launch, the eBay and Craigslist competitor was already being used to list adult services, animals, drugs and other items that breach Facebook’s policies.
I learned:
Users took to social media to report listings on Marketplace, which included a hedgehog, a gun, a snake and a baby.
Facebook is in modification mode. Allegedly the company said via a spokesperson:
We are working to fix the problem and will be closely monitoring our systems to ensure we are properly identifying and removing violations before giving more people access to Marketplace.”
Several observations:
- Facebook reaches lots of people. The Dark Web doesn’t. Ergo. The Dark Web’s tendrils will reach toward the Facebook thing.
- Bad actors on the Dark Web are probably easier and quicker for authorities to observe.
- Facebook’s me too did not anticipate that its customers would bring the darkness to the otherwise sunny climes of grandmothers and their friends.
- Facebook’s strategic planning seems to have a bit of a gap.
Worth monitoring. From a distance.
Stephen E Arnold, October 13, 2016
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