Facebook settlement will make all future privacy changes "opt-in"

[nsane.forums]

Facebook is close to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that will require the social network to make all future privacy changes "opt-in." Facebook has been hit with numerous complaints that privacy changes made personal information public by default, but a pending settlement with the US government "would require Facebook to obtain users' consent before making 'material retroactive changes' to its privacy policies," the Wall Street Journal reported. "That means that Facebook must get consent to share data in a way that is different from how the user originally agreed the data could be used."

If it comes to fruition, this could end one of the Facebook rituals we've become used to: feverishly poring over one's privacy settings each time Facebook announces it has "simplified" the way users share personal information. Although Facebook is extraordinarily popular, with 800 million active users, privacy complaints go back several years. In December 2009 the Electronic Privacy Information Center called on the FTC to investigate then-recent changes to privacy settings.

"In an attempt to draw more user attention to the fact that there are, in fact, privacy settings, Facebook made sweeping changes across its site at the beginning of December," we reported back in 2009. "The problem? Some of the changes urged users to share everything with everyone—pretty much the polar opposite of what most people would want to do."

More complaints to the FTC followed in 2010, but Facebook officials no doubt hope to prevent future gripes with the forthcoming settlement. While it is still awaiting final approval from the FTC, the Journal reports the "agreement prohibits Facebook from making information that's already on the site available to a wider audience than previously intended, without the user's express consent." The settlement "won't dictate how Facebook obtains user consent for new features," but it will require Facebook to undergo independent privacy audits for the next 20 years.

View: Original Article

[DKT27]

Privacy: Will Facebook Ever Get It?

With Facebook reportedly close to cutting a deal with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over privacy sins dating back to 2009, the question remains whether the social network's brain trust really gets the privacy issue.

The details--reported by the Wall Street Journal--of Facebook's imminent pact with the FTC describe an agreement that gives the socnet plenty of room to violate its members' privacy in the future. That's because the deal affects a standing target--all the data currently on the system--and not the moving one, which is data added to the network in the future. It is the latter Facebook needs to address if privacy is truly going to be protected on the network.

Under the reported agreement, Facebook would need to obtain your permission before subjecting you to changes in its privacy policy that will "materially" affect how it handles your information. In the case before the FTC -- which the agreement would settle -- Facebook changed its privacy policy in 2009 so that information previously kept private, such as name, picture, city, gender and friends list, was suddenly made public.

The date you joined Facebook will affect the agreement's notification requirement. What Facebook can do with your data will vary depending on what version of its privacy policy was in effect when you joined the network. Not only will that be totally confusing to you and everyone else on the network, but it should create some nightmares for Facebook's administrators, too.

In addition, expressed consent won't be needed for all changes nor will it be needed for new changes. That means if Facebook rolls out a feature like facial recognition or Timelines, which have significant privacy implications, it can do so whether you want to participate in the rollout or not.

To make sure Facebook is toeing the line on privacy once it cuts its deal with the FTC, it will reportedly submit itself to annual privacy audits by an independent third-party. Similar terms were included in pacts inked in the past by the FTC with Google and Twitter. How effective these audits will be in protecting anyone's privacy, though, is yet to be determined.

Facebook's Privacy Track Record

Needless to say, Facebook's privacy record has been less than stellar. Last year alone, there was a privacy change that gave the social network ownership of its members' data forever, allowed its partners' websites to peek at a member's information when they visited the site, shared location information with apps by default, created a privacy-challenged group feature, and allowed apps to transmit its members' and their friends' names to advertisers and Internet tracking companies.

That's not to say that Facebook hasn't made some strides in improving its privacy policies. In fact the most recent batch of changes to those policies were praised by privacy advocates for making it easier for users to understand who will be able to view status updates, photos, videos, and other content they post on the site and giving its members increased controls over content they're tagged in.

Nevertheless, with rumors circulating that Facebook may "go public" next year with an IPO worth an estimated $100 billion, one has to wonder if the FTC deal is a convenience calculated to make the company look more attractive to investors than a sign that the social network is finally "getting it" when it comes to privacy.

:view: View: Original Article