Can Facebook Have 'Friends' in China?

Word is that Facebook will be launching its service in China. Unlike its presence in other countries, though, Facebook—and its users—will have to subscribe to Chinese rules, which means Big Brother is definitely watching, and naming names, and maybe punishing people with jail sentences and maybe worse. Who knows?

This is when information exchange and modern technology get hazy and dicey, too. We already know about Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android phones tracking users’ whereabouts, something that upsets some of our congressional leaders. Of course many of us just want to make sure our phones work or that we can reach our kids when necessary (or because we just want to bug them). Because seriously, how much can we really do about a phone that can spy? 

And in spite of any questions we may have about how much information people post on their Facebook pages, not to mention the nature of the content, we have to hand it to the company for getting people to divulge data they wouldn’t share in the “real” world. People are still not sure how to use Facebook in ways that will keep them out of trouble. Indeed, we’re all still learning how to effectively apply social media in our personal and work lives in ways that won’t come back to bite us.

I was talking to someone recently about job candidates who, following an interview, then try to connect with the HR professional they’ve just met with. This, she said, puts the interviewer in an awkward spot. But I’m not so sure people are thinking about that aspect of social media: Will whatever I’m doing—Tweeting about, attempting to connect with, etc.—make the recipient uncomfortable? Where do I draw the line? What’s appropriate and what’s not such a good idea? Are young job applicants really asking themselves these questions? Is anyone advising them on how to manage this part of their lives?

Too often these days we’re giving that job—the rule-maker—to the platform whether it’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or any of the others. And now, with Facebook about to launch in China we have to wonder how the rule-maker—the government—and those who must follow will get along. 

Consider the fact that back in 2008 when one of Facebook’s prospective partner in China, Wang Jianzhou, head of China Mobile Communications, sat on a panel with people from Google, Sony, and the FCC and let everyone know, according to The Wall Street Journal, that his company “tracks people as they gather in groups and that it freely shares this data with Beijing’s security forces.”

This disclosure alone should have the PR people at Facebook preparing for what Congress and other privacy and human rights groups might lob in their direction. Yes, technology is a wonderful thing, and its ability to change cultures and replace militaristic regimes with democracies is truly awe-inspiring. But there’s another side and perhaps several sides to something we’re just beginning to understand. So while Facebook will ask its new subscribers to join in all the fun they probably ought to include some cautionary info as well. It just seems like the right thing to do.

For more, follow me on Twitter @LeslieLevine.