Concern about Privacy Settings on Facebook

Facebook's revised privacy settings are causing concern amongst it's users

The world’s largest social networking site might have thought that the new privacy options it introduced last week would finally quell criticism that it does not adequately safeguard personal information provided by users. But it looks like Facebook’s newest changes have only increased privacy concerns with at least one major organization filing a formal complaint with America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The Electronic Privacy Information Centre was infuriated when Facebook’s widely publicized privacy enhancements actually ended up putting more private information in the public domain than ever before.

Facebook’s new privacy options mean that unless users actively limit what the general public can see on their profile, the default setting actually allows strangers to access more private information than before. While it is true that it is no longer possible to join a regional or city network and access the profiles of others in this group, it is now possible to see Facebook wall posts and pictures on the profiles of millions of Facebook users who did not previously make this information public.

Marc Rotenberg, the Centre’s director, noted that is was unacceptable that over 100 million Americans who use Facebook will now have their privacy compromised due to the relaxed default settings. A major problem with the new Facebook settings is that just about anyone can now read the status updates of total strangers, unless the given Facebook user actually decides to limit this information. Previously, these updates would not have automatically been made public. The American Library Association and the Consumer Federation of America agree with the Centre’s concerns and support the official complaint against Facebook.