Today, while doing my usual stuff around (including some Facebook posts and comments), I was suddenly asked to confirm my identity. It seems a bot (or something else, e.g., a group of people who want to cancel me and submitted a mass complaint) decided my account is not real. So I was asked to go through a (kind of) humiliating, but very detailed procedure of filming myself in a selfie, and then uploading that selfie to Facebook. Additionally, I was also immediately banned from the network and was told that no one can see me and my data.
It seems that’s a procedure that Facebook uses to fight bots. I do not know how polished that process is, and honestly, I have little faith that such an appeal could be successful. If not, it means my primary Facebook account will disappear, for good or worse.
I’ve been challenged multiple times on that network—a few months in the Facebook jail, numerous other “offences”, you know the drill. In any case, that might be the last punishment: the “capital punishment” in the Facebook world. If punished, my information will disappear from there, once and for all.
If this happens, I’m not sure if I will reestablish my account there. Maybe I will do it just because of my business-related things. E.g., I’m needed in certain groups, where I must contribute. Otherwise, this punishment might turn into a gift, as I know how much time it takes for me to participate in that network, and how many bad (and good, but mostly bad) emotions have passed through me.
A very close friend of mine departed Facebook years ago. And he’s glad he did it. We’re very different as personalities, though, and I think I might not feel comfortable long-term doing the same. Time will tell.
No matter how this turns out, I think setting up or resuming my personal communication channel is more critical than ever. And this is a crucial reminder that in any other network we’re the product, and that they own anything we post there, including our presence. This includes Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Mastodon, … you name it!