[linedash]

So the govt has my data instead of Facebook? No thank you - that's vastly worse.

[ReverseCold]

I indirectly have control over what the government does with the data (as a citizen). If enough citizens don't like what they're doing, it can be stopped. Also, they have no incentive to make money by harming people.

On the other hand, I'm not a board member or shareholder of Facebook, and they have a legal obligation to make money.

As such, I would absolutely use a US Government social media service over Facebook. (Bonus if it were federated with other countries.)

(In reality I'd use neither because Facebook is boring anyway.)

[ReverseCold]

Oh, and there's a good chance the NSA would want to encrypt communications too.

Their job should be to protect data, not collect it.

[ams6110]

Being cynical, the goverment has it anyway. Why not avoid the middleman?

[tonyedgecombe]

Too easy to access, there is a world of difference between the police taking a warrant to Facebook and some jobsworth in the local council browsing through data to look for potential victims to harass.

[awptimus]

middle man increases uncertainty, which is your friend

[mezzode]

Honestly, in a perfect world it might make sense. The fact that often there is more trust in private, profit-driven corporations over governments which are meant to represent the public and their interests is definitely something that needs to be considered.