I always love it when a sleazy, authoritarian plan backfires spectacularly.
The following story from CNET is simply mind-boggling:
As KSL-TV reports, residents of an apartment building in Salt Lake City, Utah, say they found a curious piece of paper stuck to their doors.
Headlined “Facebook Addendum,” it had fascinating stipulations.
It insisted that tenants had five days to “friend” the City Park Apartments on Facebook or they’d be in breach of their lease. The fact that they’d already signed their lease perhaps months previously didn’t seem to matter to the owners.
Oh, and then there was the part about releasing the building owners to post pictures of the tenants or their visitors to, yes, the building’s Facebook page.
You will also be traumatized into delirium when I tell you that another stipulation was that the tenants don’t post anything negative on social media. This seems a strangely unbalanced “friendship.”
One tenant, Jason Ring, told KSL: “I don’t want to be forced to be someone’s friend and be threatened to break my lease because of that.”
Ring believes it’s a violation of his privacy. It’s hard not to sympathize. What right does an apartment complex have to force you to use a social network? What if you don’t even have a Facebook account? Do you try to negotiate and say you’ll give them a nice Yelp review?
Currently, the building enjoys a mere 1.1-star rating on its Facebook page. It also enjoys comments that are less than flattering.
For example, this from Tom Native: “Dropping in and giving you one star because you act like a bunch of Nazi’s [sic] with the FB policy you are forcing down residents throats. Do you really think forcing people to like you is the way to go? I am guessing as this goes viral, you will be getting more bad reviews than you could have gotten good reviews.”
Well done, City Park Apartments, well done.
For related articles, see:
Former Facebook Curators Reveal How Conservative News is Censored
At Facebook, Some Hate Speech is More Equal Than Others
Facebook Caught Secretly Lobbying for Privacy Destroying “Cyber Security” Bill
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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I’m guessing the recently hired director of media and communications for City Park apartments is back in his previous job as a fry cook at a diner.
Well played. I’m sure his hair and eyebrows will eventually grow back once the fire was put out.
Interesting note. Just checked the link for their Facebook page and it’s not there.