Is social media giant Meta spying on you for fossil fuel fascists?

By this point, you probably know that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and now Threads, spends a lot of time spying on you. Chronicled in books like The Age of Surveillance Capitalism and the Netflix docu-drama The Social Dilemma, the problem of social media spying on us, selling our personal information to unscrupulous actors, and colluding with climate deniers, autocrats, and bad-actors of all kinds is well established.

But two new trends are making Meta more dangerous: The first is X, ni Twitter, which Elon Musk is quickly turning into his personal right-wing troll farm. As that platform descends into chaos and hate, it’s making Meta look more virtuous just by standing still. The second is a resurgence of politicians using Meta’s products to suppress climate protest in particular, and calling on Meta to support efforts to block, jail, and oppress people speaking out for climate action.

Take action now before Meta grows again in users, political power, and suppression of free speech. Sign now to Tell Meta to Stop Violating Our Privacy.

Days after it launched Threads, Meta’s competitor to Twitter, boomed with 100 million users. The app from Meta claims it is the most rapidly downloaded app ever. This fits with the general trend of new social media platforms to be good to users (and therefore popular) at firsts, and then to gradually become more corporate, fascist, and oppressive over time.

Threads’ rapid rise and ease of adoption also means that some privacy concerns have seemingly been overlooked. Just how much data and information does the app collect? Turns out, it’s a lot.

Just like its other platforms, Instagram and Facebook, Threads can and will collect a lot of data on its users. That can include sensitive information such as health and fitness data, financial information, and location and browsing history — just to name a few. And according to Thread’s privacy policy, it also has access to GPS location, cameras, photos, IP information, Bluetooth signals, nearby Wi-Fi access points, and cell towers.

That information gives law enforcement a particular power of activists and organizers. Here in the US, Meta has already helped police find, arrest, and sentence a Nebraska teen and her mom for up to 5 years for using safe and FDA- approved medication abortion pills. In the UK, Australia, and France, Meta has worked with fossil fueled fascists to break up actions, enhance convictions against peaceful protestors, and more.

With Meta on the rise again in users and in political power, and with the risk to climate protestors and activists greater than ever, this is a critical moment to speak up. Sign now to Tell Meta to Stop Violating Our Privacy.