Even battleships take damage. The long term damage will be greater. There a certain powers which are tolerated on the tacit understanding that they will never be used, like authority to order a nuclear strike or the capacity to beat up one’s wife. Once this capability is used, whatever the justification, things are never the same again. What has been seen cannot be unseen and things are never so free and easy as before.
Social media is global. Facebook in particular is widely used by the Third World. Presidents other than DT use Twitter. In the past this vast audience was prepared not to think about how social media spied on, used and policed them because they lulled themselves into thinking that cool, hip Tech would never act like a vengeful posse. Now there’s no ignoring the fact that if they can cancel millions they can cancel you. And everyone can imagine the noose tightening round their throat — at least potentially.
It would be surprising if in the months to come users didn’t seek a hedge against the power they’ve seen displayed.
