Is Facebook founder a dictator?

By Digital News Asia June 2, 2016

Pirate Bay founder describes Zuckerberg as dictator
Zuckerberg also blasted by Donald Trump's campaign

FACEBOOK founder Mark Zuckerberg (pic above) is the "dictator" of "the biggest nation in the world", the cofounder of file sharing site The Pirate Bay said recently.

Speaking during an interview at The Next Web conference in Amsterdam, Peter Sunde said that there is "no democracy" online.

People in the tech industry have a lot of responsibilities but they never really discuss these things. Facebook is the biggest nation in the world and we have a dictator, if you look at it from a democracy standpoint, Mark Zuckerberg is a dictator. I did not elect him. He sets the rules," Sunde said.

And really you can't opt out of Facebook. I'm not on Facebook but there are a lot of drawbacks in my offline world. No party invitations, no updates from my friends, people stop talking to you, because you're not on Facebook. So it has real life implications."

Sunde (pic above) is known for cofounding The Pirate Bay, the notorious file-sharing site which landed him in jail in 2014, for which he served a five-month sentence. His other cofounders were all found guilty of copyright infringements.

To demonstrate his point, Sunde cited the example of when German Chancellor Angela Merkel was overheard at a United Nations meeting confronting Zuckerberg about anti-immigration posts on Facebook. "That's kind of what it comes to. We send major leaders of Europe to ask him to stop interfering with our local culture. How did we end up in a situation like this?," Sunde said.

Sunde also decried the technology world's lack of perspective. He denounced Facebook's policy requiring people to use their real name, as in some countries, this can get people persecuted and makes it hard to organise political movements.

"Mark Zuckerberg is a rich white dude from a really privileged background," Sunde said, explaining why he thinks the Facebook boss doesn't understand cultural differences. "The reason for the real name policy is Mark Zuckerberg wants to make another dollar."

Facebook has been working to reassure its users about privacy. It released a new privacy policy last year that made it easier for people to decide which posts are public or private. And WhatsApp, which Facebook owns, recently introduced full encryption.

Zuckerberg has also shared his own thoughts on privacy. In Apple's recent tussle with the FBI over unlocking an iPhone that belonged to one of the San Bernardino shooters, Zuckerberg said he is "sympathetic" to Apple. The iPhone maker refused to help authorities unlock the phone.

This is not the first time that the Facebook has come under fire. Katrina Pierson, a spokeswoman for Republican front-runner Donald Trump's presidential campaign, said that she can't take Facebook CEO seriously after the tech billionaire made a thinly-veiled reference to her candidate's positions.

"Self-righteousness isn't very proactive: We can talk about taxes, we can talk about jobs and even immigration, but that doesn't really put food on the table and save lives," she said.

"I think I'll take Mark Zuckerberg seriously when he gives up all of his private security, moves out of his posh neighbourhood and comes live in a modest neighbourhood near a border town, and then I'm sure his attitude would change," she added.

At Facebook's F8 developer conference recently, Zuckerberg spoke out against those seeking to build walls, both physical and digital.

"As I look around and I travel around the world, I'm starting to see people and nations turning inward, against this idea of a connected world and a global community," he said.

"I hear fearful voices calling for building walls and distancing people they label as others. For blocking free expression, for slowing immigration, reducing trade, and in some cases around the world, even cutting access to the Internet.

"The CEOs in Silicon Valley should focus on innovation and jobs and their businesses, and let the politicians make their policies," Pierson said. "It's great that we can have innovation in this country, but you should be able to do that without putting the lives of Americans at risk."

Related Stories:

IBM and Facebook team up on ‘people-based’ marketing

US$19b for WhatsApp: What Facebook is really getting

Facebook lands in Malaysia