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Facebook Has Mapped the Entire Human Population of Earth (cnbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the it's-getting-creepier-by-day dept.

Facebook doesn't only know what its 2 billion users "Like." It now knows where 7.5 billion humans live, everywhere on earth, to within 15 feet. From a report: The company has created a data map of the planet's entire human population by combining government census numbers with information it's obtained from space satellites, according to Janna Lewis, Facebook's head of strategic innovation partnerships and sourcing. The mapping technology, which Facebook says it developed itself, can pinpoint any man-made structures in any country on earth to a resolution of five meters. Facebook is using the data to understand the precise distribution of humans around the planet.

4 of 160 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Well thats not creepy at all... by Headw1nd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is honestly next-level supervillain shit. I'm impressed.

  2. BS by 110010001000 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Total BS. But it makes a good story.

  3. The Defintion of Terrorism by geekmux · · Score: 4, Insightful

    (US Citizen) "Hey guys, check this out. I combined information and I know where every single human on the planet is."

    (US Government) "Seize the terrorists assets immediately and throw him in prison indefinitely."

    [Meanwhile, over in the land of Too Valuable To Fail...]

    (Facebook) "Hey guys, check this out. We combined information and we know where every single human on the planet is."

    (US Government) "Oh wow, hey cool. Mind if we get a piece of that? Sweet, thx."

  4. Entire Human Population by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Entire Human Population"

    Perhaps "entire" doesn't mean what you think it does?