Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Facebook Patents Tech to Determine Social Class

posted by cmn32480 on Thursday February 15 2018, @02:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the what-could-possibly-go-wrong? dept.

Fnord666 writes:

We've got great news this week for nation-state employees tasked with using social media to spark a class war in previously stable democracies! Facebook is patenting technology to decide if its users are upper, middle or working class -- without even using the usual marker for social class: an individual's income (the patent considers this a benefit).

Facebook's patent plan for "Socioeconomic Group Classification Based on User Features" uses different data sources and qualifiers to determine whether a user is "working class," "middle class," or "upper class." It uses things like a user's home ownership status, education, number of gadgets owned, and how much they use the internet, among other factors. If you have one gadget and don't use the internet much, in Facebook's eyes you're probably a poor person.

Facebook's application says the algorithm is intended for use by "third parties to increase awareness about products or services to online system users." Examples given include corporations and charities.

Engadget

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Facebook Patents Tech to Determine Social Class | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 36 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday February 15 2018, @07:40AM (2 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday February 15 2018, @07:40AM (#638129) Journal

    Will the "upper class" meet people like us on facebook? People who actually do this kind of stuff? Not likely. From what I see here, most of us hate that site.

    Will the upper class care about the invisibles? I bet they won't. Not until is too late for them.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 1) by anubi on Friday February 16 2018, @03:43AM (1 child)

    by anubi (2828) on Friday February 16 2018, @03:43AM (#638640) Journal

    The problem is mutual... they won't find me because I am not there. Nor will I find them, because they are not here.

    All that blather and my distrust of social networks keeps me off of them. I find them boring as hell.

    While the monied can buy anything they want.... they don't need to pay attention to boring detail work.

    --
    "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday February 17 2018, @12:23AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday February 17 2018, @12:23AM (#639134) Journal

      Two groups of people leaving in the same country can't go on ignoring each other for long, especially when one of the groups prey on the other.
      Sooner or later, the preying group is bound to let the Facebook harvesting ground aside.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford