4. In Its Efforts To Fight Fake Accounts, Facebook Should Target Malware, Not Pseudonyms

Facebook’s latest filing with SEC, or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company estimated 83 million fake users did not file under a real legal name. Facebook estimated that as of December 31 2011 5 percent to 6 percent of users were fake. However, Facebook says that these are only estimates and the real number could be higher or lower. There are many different types of these fake active users. About 4.8 percent are duplicates, 2.4 percent are user-misclassified in which the user uses a pseudonym, and 1.5 percent are used to basically spread links to spam or malware which violates the terms of service. The terms of service of Facebook states that people are at risk of being deactivated for not using their real name on an account and if the account is shut down, the user must ask Facebook for permission to create a new account. It is important for Facebook to eliminate fake accounts because the false accounts make it difficult for the company to sell advertising. Also, some of the false accounts create a security hazard for the network.

The author of the article informs and also offers a suggestion to what Facebook should do. The author says that many fake or pseudonym accounts are in nations such as Egypt and Turkey where frees speech is not doing well. The author points out the significance of Facebook in “We Are All Khaled Said” revolution. The author states that eliminating all the false accounts could hurt activists and that Facebook should focus on eliminated the spam accounts.