A lot of local things only post information on facebook. And facebook likes to block access to this info unless you have an account. I’ve avoided making one for a long time cause of how unethical the site is and just asked friends to tell me info when I need it, but it finally wore me down today.

When trying to figure out when the local farmers market would be open during the summer, I discovered they only post updates on facebook. They have a vague schedule on their site, but stuff like cancellings and when exactly it changes to the “summer” schedule is facebook-only. So, my eyes filled with the promise of fresh fruits and veggies, I — at long-last — made a facebook account.

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Finally, I could view the times and locations food is sold in my town without needing to rely on someone else. …Just kidding. Actually, they decided I was up to “suspicious activity” (I even used my legal name…) and blocked my account until I 3d-scanned my face for them.

I certainly don’t feel comfortable giving this company (CW for trans- & queer-phobia) a 3d-scan of my face, so I still can’t find out exactly when the local farmers market is open.

The situation is bad.

It’s easy to blame the farmers market for this, but I don’t think fault lies with them. They should just be able to post information online without some evil company taking that hostage.

Facebook is theoretically a private company, but at times it feels more like a public utility. Never-mind the farmers market, I wouldn’t be surprised if more than half of apartment listings here are only posted to facebook. For some, it may not even be possible to get housing without 3d-scanning their face for facebook. That definitely isn’t consensual.

Brainstorming a workaround

I’m not going to scan my face, but I’m probably going to keep trying to get an account, because of how useful — and necessary, really — it seems.

Some ideas I’m considering:

Use AI to generate the video (I tried and it seems difficult to make one where the face moves in the right motion.)

Keep making new facebook accounts until I manage to get one that doesn’t trigger their system (Probably hard cause I did this legit-style, with no fake info. If that triggers it, is it even possible to make an account without the 3d-scan?)

Purchase an already-verified facebook account on the grey market (might be the easiest method, but potentially unethical depending on how they got the accounts.)

If anything works out, I might (or might not) make a new post with updates. Until then, see you!

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