Facebook and its siblings are spying on us – Oman Observer

While reading a recent article on Rai Al Youm titled ‘What Does Facebook Really Know About You?’, I was reminded of an incident years ago at our old radio workplace. A colleague claimed our phones could record conversations even when switched off. To prove it, he powered his device down, left the room, and asked us to talk freely. Upon returning, he restarted the phone — and to our surprise, our voices and images had been recorded. That moment was revealing. In today’s hyper-digital world, surveillance technologies have grown remarkably sophisticated. We now carry devices that constantly monitor our activities and transmit our private lives to unseen parties. Chief among these tools is the smartphone — equipped with social media apps, GPS, cameras, and microphones — effectively turning every user into a traceable subject. Among the most pervasive digital platforms, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) have drawn particular scrutiny. The Rai Al Youm report focused on Facebook’s evolution from a social platform to a vast surveillance network, powered by advanced artificial intelligence capable of collecting, analysing, and interpreting user behaviour at astonishing levels of precision. The report asserts that Facebook now understands its users better than their closest relatives. With
Read More