Facebook....
If you don't spend your days glued to tech blogs, you might not know about the latest trend among hipster techies: quitting Facebook. These folks, including a bunch of Google engineers, are bailing out because Facebook just changed its rules so that much of your personal profile information, including where you work, what music you like, and where you went to school, now gets made public by default. Some info is even shared with companies that are special partners of Facebook, like Yelp, Pandora, and Microsoft. And while there are ways to dial back on some of this by tinkering with your privacy settings, it's tricky to figure out—intentionally so, according to cynics.
The fear is that people are being lured into Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service, and don't realize that they're paying for it by giving up loads of personal information. Facebook then attempts to "monetize" one's data by selling it to advertisers that want to send targeted messages.
Most folks using Facebook have no idea this is happening. Even if you're very tech-savvy and do know what the company is up to, you still have no idea what you're paying for Facebook, because people don't really know what their personal data is worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you could keep everything private. That was the great thing about Facebook—you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that a lot of things—your city, your profile photo, the names of your friends—were set, by default, to be shared with everyone on the Internet. Sure, you could change everything back and make it private. But most people probably didn't bother. Now Facebook is going even further by insisting that unless you agree to make things like your hometown, interests, and friends' names public, then you can't list them at all.
The whole kerfuffle is a misunderstanding, according to Elliot Schrage, Facebook's vice president of communications and public policy. In his version of events, the company is simply making changes to improve the service it provides to users by giving them more "granular" control over what they share, and if people don't share information they have a "less satisfying experience." Facebook is innovating so rapidly, he says, that people don't fully understand what the company is doing, and that change is scary.
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally flopped. Who wants to look at advertisements when they're online connecting with their friends? Facebook denies that financial motives drove the changes. "Of all the criticisms, that's the one I find most distressing—that anything we've done is damaging to users in order for us to make more money," says Schrage.
And not everyone thinks it's such a bad thing to have less privacy online. Some users, like Robert Scoble, applauded Facebook's new policies. "I wish Facebook were MORE open!!!" he wrote on his blog. "I haven't cared about privacy for years."
But others are saying that this isn't what they signed up for when they joined. The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Sen. Charles Schumer and two other senators called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. They also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites. In May, a group of 15 online-privacy groups filed a formal complaint with the FTC accusing Facebook of "unfair and deceptive trade practices." "I think the senators rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them," Schrage concedes.
Losing a few people won't hurt Facebook, which has more than 400 million registered members, most of them oblivious to the debate over privacy. In fact, I suspect Facebook will end up being to this decade what Microsoft was to the 1990s—an ever-more-powerful company with tentacles that reach into everything. I also suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy, it's only the beginning. Which is why I'm considering deactivating my account. Facebook is a handy site, but I'm freaked by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don't trust. That is too high a price to pay. newsweek.com
Facebook application raises privacy issues
23/04/2010 2:28:16 PMCBC News
Facebook's newest tools application, which allows users to see personalized versions of websites they visit elsewhere, is the latest change to the social networking site that is raising privacy concerns.
The "Instant Personalization" application allows users to see websites tailored to them based on their interests and social connections, as long as they are logged into Facebook.
The initial sites involved in the application are Yelp, Pandora and Microsoft Docs.
More are expected to join, Facebook said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told developers at Wednesday's launch at a conference for web and software developers in San Francisco that the application will mean a more personalized, social, smarter web.
But internet analysts and Facebook users said the program violates their privacy.
Opting out possible
User after user has posted warnings on Facebook accounts about "Instant Personalization," calling it an invasion of privacy, and listing steps on how to opt out of the program, as all Facebook users are automatically signed into it by default.
"As of today, Facebook has a new privacy setting called 'Instant Personalization' that shares data with non-Facebook websites and it is automatically set to 'Allow.' Go to Account > Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites, and uncheck 'Allow,' then repost this to your profile," is the common warning.
"How many people are really going to want all this information about them shared?" said Greg Sterling, an internet analyst who also writes for SearchEngineLand.com. "That's the big unanswered question here."
Sharon Machlis, online managing editor of ComputerWorld.com said users should have been warned that they would start seeing Facebook requests showing up when they visit other sites, even before they've logged into those sites.
"It's a safe bet this won't be the last time Facebook decides to troll through my data and come up with new ways of sharing," Machlis wrote Friday in her blog, Machlis Musings.
"I'm not sure I can trust them to understand that just because I'm using Facebook doesn't mean I want in on every partnership they make."
Privacy concerns not new
In 2007, Facebook's Beacon tool caught users off-guard as their activities at other websites got broadcast on the networking site, alerting friends, for instance, of holiday gifts just bought for them.
Facebook later gave users the option to turn it off before the company killed the program.
This time, though, Zuckerberg said Facebook made sure that its new tools don't intrude on privacy. Users' preferences won't be logged unless they choose to press the "like" button on websites.
If anything, Zuckerberg expects the "like" tools to give people more control over what they want to share with their online entourages.
With files from The Associated Press
Facebook’s Privacy Policies:
The internet has always posed privacy concerns, and Facebook is no exception. Searching the term “privacy” on Facebook’s search engine will generate over 500 groups that discuss everything from third party information sharing to the right to free speech. Included in these groups, is a note that has been circulating through “friends” which includes allegations that Facebook is connected to the Central Intelligence Agency and that Facebook is selling user information through a development platform.
Facebook’s Privacy Policy, which you accept by using or accessing Facebook, is probably not being read by a majority of users, which may be causing the confusion and hype. One research paper indicated that approximately 80% of facebook users have never read the privacy policy in spite of the fact that another paper indicated that 61% of users are “quite concerned” about privacy on the site. The same paper provides information on how to download vast amounts of data from Facebook and indicates that other persons have previously used the site to download information for various purposes.
While somewhat extensive, Facebook's privacy policy leaves many questions unanswered. To assist in clarifying misconceptions, here’s a brief summary of Facebook’s privacy policies:
1. A user has the option of inviting friends by email. Facebook keeps a copy of any email address that is used for invite purposes so that they may track the success of their referral program. You have the option of requesting that they remove this information from their system by contacting them.
2. Facebook may collect information about you from other sources (websites, links, blogs etc). They do so for the purposes of creating more “personalized features” for users.
3. Facebook will not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 13, or knowingly allow them to register. They recommend that minors between the ages of 13 and 18 obtain parental consent before registering.
4. Facebook blocks access to site information by third party search engines (“crawlers”). Accordingly, if someone googles your name, they should not be able to obtain a link to your user profile.
5. Facebook may use the information in your profile without identifying you as an individual to third parties. They do so for the purposes of personalizing advertising and promotions to users.
6. Facebook shares information with third parties only in “limited circumstances” where they believe such sharing is “reasonably necessary to offer the service”, “legally required” or “permitted by you”.
7. Facebook may share information with 3rd parties to facilitate business. This may allow 3rd parties access to your user content for a limited time in “connection with business activities”.
8. Third party advertisers may deliver advertisements directly to users. This allows them to collect your IP address and recognize your computer each time an advertisement is sent to you.
9. Removed information from your account, or deactivated accounts may be kept in backup copies for a “reasonable period” of time.
10. Facebook staff may access your user content if they have reason to believe you are violating the policies or terms of the site.
11. Facebook does not sell your information.
Facebook has also created a Facebook Platform which allows certain applications and sites to access your user content in a “limited fashion”. A list of these applications and sites is available through the Facebook Platform component of a user’s privacy settings. A user can choose to uncheck any information they do not was shared through the platform.
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has several times stated that Facebook is not “harvesting” information for any group or government agency. However, doubts remain, specifically with reference to numbers 6 and 7 listed above.
If like me, you’re a facebooker who is not quite ready to walk away from the site regardless of privacy issues, it is a good idea to both review Facebook’s privacy policy in full and ensure that your privacy settings are at a level that is comfortable for you.
The site’s extensive list of privacy settings, include who may search your name, and who can access specific information on your profile from your wall, to your photos, to your status updates. You can also create a limited profile, restricting certain people’s access to certain information. In light of the above, these privacy settings a certainly worth examination by every facebook user.
In addition to reviewing Facebook’s policies and available security settings, it is imperative to remember, that as stated in their privacy policy “You post user content at your own risk…please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable”.
Indeed. Even Facebook can’t be perfect. |
