After the recent snafu where private chats were made viewable by friends on Facebook, the social network service has come under intensified scrutiny. Bloomberg reported that 15 groups have complained to the FTC about Facebook with Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center saying that the social network’s changes violate user expectations, diminish user privacy, and contradict Facebook s own representations.
A writer for Cnet chimed in and talked about Facebook like a force of nature. With changes coming slowly but assuredly to make more information public, users should get used to sudden and jarring shifts.
You could choose to err on the side of paranoia, assume that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is greedily dreaming of how awesome it will be when he sells everyone’s data to marketers and uses the profits to buy himself a private island, and delete your Facebook account. Or you could just be aware, be cautious, and figure that maybe your credit card data is something you want to keep off of Facebook for now, writes Caroline McCarthy. Because while Facebook is the company it is today–subject to constant and frequent volatility, eager to tread into new marketing and networking territory–this is how it’s going to be.
A blogger for the New Zealand site Stuff, however, came to Facebook’s defense, saying that most of the criticisms are sensationalist overreactions. He said that any complaints with privacy can be fixed with a few clicks.
I can’t stress this one enough. People seem to think that social networking services like Facebook owe them something. The truth is – they don’t, writes Luke Appleby. We tend to feel a sense of ownership with our accounts, but in reality, we are just borrowing their servers, their investment and their programming – for free. If you don’t like it, don’t sign up, or if you already have, you can find the option to remove your account under ‘Account’, ‘Account Settings’, ‘Deactivate Account.’
