While the public outcry about Facebook’s complicated privacy tools recently pushed the company to simplify its user interface, at least one industry insider believes that peoples’ concerns are overblown and that, for all the hype and media coverage, the vast majority of users don’t seem to care. [More]
Data & Privacy
Internet Turns Bullsh*t Detector On Facebook CEO
By 5.27.10
Yesterday afternoon, while everyone else was cheering about how Facebook’s supercool new privacy settings were going to bring about world peace and end hunger, Marshall Kirkpatrick actually took the time to listen to what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had to say about the changes, and noticed something interesting: Zuckerberg, as Kirkpatrick put it on ReadWriteWeb, “said a number of things that seemed of questionable…truth.” [More]
Once Facebook Thinks You're Dead, You're Dead Forever
By 5.27.10
We saw this coming as soon as Facebook introduced the memorial status for the Facebook accounts of dead people. It was bound to happen at some point. Facebook has begun declaring people dead. Well, specifically, people are having their friends and loved ones declared dead as a prank, but it’s nearly impossible to rise from the Facebook dead. That’s what happened to Ryan, who has been dead for over a month now. [More]
How To Use Facebook's New Privacy Controls
By 5.26.10
Lifehacker has a handy guide to and analysis of the new, streamlined privacy controls just announced by Facebook. There’s also the full version posted on Facebook. The new controls are simpler, but fall short in some respects. [More]
Young People Actually More Likely To Be Savvy About Internet Privacy
By 5.26.10
The prevailing wisdom about young people is that they are not savvy when it comes to managing their on-line reputations — but a new study by the Pew Internet and American Life project says that the opposite is true. Young people are actually much more likely to actively restrict what information they share and with whom they share it. [More]
Facebook Announces Simplified Privacy Settings
By 5.26.10
Faced with a steady stream of criticism from users, privacy advocates, and more recently members of the government, Facebook has announced today that they’re simplifying how privacy settings work on the site. The WSJ is liveblogging Facebook’s conference call right now. CNET’s coverage is coming in faster, though, and offers more detail. Below is a quick summary of what Facebook is changing. [More]
Towing Co. Loses Half Its Accounts After Suing Over Facebook Page
By 5.25.10
Surely some of you remember the item we posted last month about a towing company in Michigan that had filed a $750,000 slander and libel lawsuit against a college student because he’d created a Facebook page for people to voice their complaints about the company. Well, that move appears to have backfired for the towing company, which has since lost a good chunk of business. [More]
Facebook's Zuckerberg: We "Missed The Mark"
By 5.24.10
Echoing (or is that just endlessly repeating?) comments made by his minions last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg today said that the company “missed the mark” with its complex privacy controls, and vowed to give users a “simpler way to control your information.” [More]
Facebook Finalizing Privacy Changes, Giving Away Even More Of Your Info
By 5.21.10
Confirming rumors that began trickling out earlier this week, Facebook today said that it would make its privacy controls easier to use. But the company stopped short of adding any specifics, and didn’t lay out a timetable for the changes. Oh, and Facebook has also been caught handing over some allegedly private data to big advertisers. And did we mention the hack that could delete all your friends?
Facebook May Simplify Privacy Controls
By 5.20.10
Facing mounting criticism that its privacy settings have become overly complex, Facebook is now considering changes “for users who want simplistic bands of privacy that they can choose from.” It’s unclear, however, whether the planned changes will provide more options for users who don’t want to share certain information, or just make the existing choices easier to access.
VIDEO: New Kin Ad Creeps Consumer Reports Out
By 5.18.10
Theresa over at Consumer Reports Ad Watch took a gander at the latest Kin ad and is kinda skeeved out. In the ad for Microsoft’s new social networking phone targeted at teens, protagonist “Rosa” goes out to confront in person “Matty Goldberb” who’s been hitting on her on Facebook, despite their never meeting before and not knowing each other besides some “mutual friends” (according to Facebook). [More]
Groupon Shows How To Properly Explain TOS Changes
By 5.18.10
Groupon is a daily deal sort of website, but the reason it’s on Consumerist today is because of how well it communicated some recent changes to its Terms of Service agreement. Consumerist reader Pureboy sent in a copy of the email he recently received where the website explained the changes in plain English, with examples. [More]
Waitress Disses Customers On Facebook, Gets Fired
By 5.18.10
Brixx Pizza in North Carolina takes social media pretty seriously, because it fired a waitress after she complained on her Facebook page about a stingy couple who occupied a table for three hours and only left a $5 tip. [More]
"Openbook" Makes It Easy To Search For Humiliating Facebook Updates
By 5.17.10
There’s a new Facebook search site out there with a concept similar to PleaseRobMe, a site that demonstrates just how easy it is for bad guys to use social networking crap to tell when you’re away from your home. This new Facebook Search allows anyone to search for potentially embarrassing updates that can now be viewed by the public. [More]
Would You Desert Facebook Over Privacy Issues?
By 5.16.10
There have been quite a few trend pieces out there this weekend, all along the lines of “Facebook’s privacy issues woes are causing users to quit it… FOREVER!” We’ve already told you it’s not likely you’ll decamp — after all, everyone loves Facebook… right? [More]
Diaspora: The Facebook Slayer Where Protecting Your Privacy Is Their Killer App
By 5.13.10
Instead of just kvetching about Facebook, these four self-described “talented young nerds” are doing something. They’re constructing a new kind of open-source distributed social network called Diaspora, and protecting all your information is at its core. Instead of handing over your bits to a central hub, it goes into your personalized server or “seed.” You own the server, you own your data. Everything is private and encrypted by default. It’s up to you to decide how much or how little you want to reveal. Sound crazy? There’s plenty of people who don’t think so. In just 20 days, the NYU students have raised $93,068 on Kickstarter. [More]
Facebook Can Warn You When Someone Else Logs Into Your Account
By 5.12.10
By the time someone hacks into your Facebook account and sends all of your friends plaintive messages about being mugged in London, it’s too late to do anything about it. However, Facebook does have an early-warning system of sorts. Using a security setting, you can have the service alert you whenever your account is accessed from another location, giving you a chance to (hopefully) force the intruder out and change your password.
Visualizing The Devolution Of Privacy On Facebook
By 5.11.10
This chart shows how the default privacy settings on Facebook have gotten less, well, private, from 2005-2010. Created by Matt McKeon based off an EFF timeline, it helps visualize how Facebook has grown increasingly permissive with your data as it has grown in size, power, and revenue. What might tomorrow bring? Perhaps in the future Facebook will create placeholder profiles for people who haven’t signed up yet, using data gleaned from Zabasearch and LexisNexis. Check out Matt’s site for an interactive version.
The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook [mattmckeon via NPR]
