Slashdot Mirror
Facebook Sharing Too Much Personal Data With Application Developers
An anonymous reader writes "Remember the Facebook News Feed privacy uproar? What about the Beacon scandal from late last year? Privacy activists are rallying around yet another major issue at Facebook, in which the company is secretly sharing user data with third parties. Researchers from the University of Virginia recently announced that in a study of the top 150 Facebook applications, more than 90% were given access to information that was not needed to function correctly. That Scrabble or Superpoke application you really like? Its developers get access to your religion, sexuality and home town. Facebook's position was summed up by Georgetown Law Professor Dan Solove, 'They seem to be going on the assumption that if someone uses Facebook, they really have no privacy concerns.' Do Facebook users deserve privacy? "
is for suckers!
If you post it on the 'net, it's public information, no matter how secure or private the application is. One must treat his or her information on social networks this way, no exceptions.
Colin Dean Go a year without DRM
Do you really think I'm a Pastafarian?
...
Now, true, half my friends post pics of their drunken parties (yo! Aislinn and Katelyn! love the pics!), but so far I'm not in any of the pics, and I happen to know some of my friends are not the people they say they are
Nobody trusts the man, man. We all realize you're all pervs.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
In a word, no.
It's turtles all the way down!
At this point, I'd say no.
Personally, given their abysmal track record so far, I'd say that anyone using them at this point should assume they have no privacy at all. To some extent facebook is guilty of false advertising, by seeming to allow you to restrict other users from seeing some of your information. But why anyone who put anything on Facebook would expect any privacy at all, is a mystery to me.
It's not wasting time, I'm educating myself.
I haven't seen a company this determined to shoot themselves in the foot with bad policy since Real Networks. You'd think they would think Facebook might have realized at least some people actually do care about balancing utility with privacy.
When you add an application, it asks you quite clearly:
[ ] Know who I am and access my information.
It's the first checkbox.
Or, even better: you don't need to use applications! Hell, you don't even need to use Facebook! There are services like Hushmail for people who want privacy in their communications.
facebooks should just adopt openid
it's getting to the point where you really don't have to think anymore to solve problems in information technology
just read slashdot headlines. problems, and solutions, present themselves. often in temporal order. right next to each other
(scratches head)
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
...cue mass Facebook protest in 5, 4, 3, ...
I work in Higher Education and we're just starting to get on the ball with recruiting via Social Networking (we're always years behind the curve -- I'm surprised we're this current actually) and just as with anything that you provide to a third party, you should really think about what that group needs to have from you in order for you to get what you need in return.
Higher Education is still generally based on paper marketing. Yes, we have a mass of information available on the web but it's not enough honestly and from some Noell-Levitz studies it has been found that the majority of students still want to be communicated by traditional mail marketing in addition to everything else. In fact, in the focus groups I have conducted on the topic, 89% of those that responded (pool of ~350) wanted no communication other than direct mail -- that was shocking to me, especially because they were traditional aged students (18 - 24). I have found that most students will give you their name and address (which is more than I normally will give anyone until I actually apply to the college) and not much else (no birthdate, prior education, and especially no phone number or e-mail address).
So, why are these people giving it to Facebook? Why would they trust that site more than an institution of higher education that is actually mandated by law to protect the privacy of those it deals with? I can't turn around and release any part of a student database to any third party unless its cleansed and has no identifiable information.
Personally, while Facebook is the "new big thing" in Higher Education, it's not worth it for our institution to spend all that much time recruiting by it. Our traditional data works just fine to increase enrollment through the traditional mail, phone and e-communication programs I have developed and redeveloped. That said, I really do believe that people should be very careful about what they put out on any social networking site. Contrary to the belief that there are no automated programs allowed to scour the site, they do and the data that comes back is some really interesting stuff to wade through.
hubris. outrageous, but expected. facebook is becoming too corporate and moving away from its roots. maybe the reason i barely go there anymore.
Privacy Violation Concerns.. TRIPLE WORD POINTS!
So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
Wait, last time I checked Facebook doesn't automaticly install apps you have to do it and confirm you are allowing this app to acccess some of your information. They don't give third parties your info, you do.
If it is, essentially, "You have zero privacy anyway, Get over it" then the users shouldn't expect anything more.
Best Slashdot Co
Deserve? Yes, everyone deserves the right to keep their personal lives private. Should they expect privacy? Not likely. There's no free lunch in life, online or offline: why would Facebook spend many millions of dollars maintaining a social network without milking every last bit of profit out of their user base? They're going to do whatever they can get away with, period. I don't know why people find this so hard to grasp: it's like when I try to explain to people that those "free emoticons" they so fondly install are filling up somebody's offshore server with their personal information and filling their monitor with pop-up advertisements.
body massage!
Actually, he's at George Washington Law (one of those other "George" schools):
http://www.law.gwu.edu/facweb/dsolove/
also, has a blog at:
http://www.concurringopinions.com/
Maybe I'm just that suspicious, but the first time I went to look at one of those "applications" on facebook, the first checkbox in a list of a half dozen you can select before you hit "go" was a riff on "Allow this application to access my personal info" ---I automatically assumed that meant ALL my info, and promptly cancelled whatever it was.
Did anyone ever really have the assumption that that information was needed to make the app function, and not just a way of tricking users into giving up demographic info to third parties?
Personally I'm not sure Facebook is in the wrong on this one. It's up in big letters that you're giving whatever application it is access to your personal info--and all those things are OPTIONAL to place in your profile. I don't know that it should their fault that users don't think it through and then become surprised/outraged when they find out what it really means.
If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
Although I understand that if you post something on the internet, info or pics may be viewed by people that you don't want viewing them (ex: a friend of yours on facebook finds a pic you uploaded really funny and posts it somewhere else), this does not mean that facebook should start giving away info to whoever requests it. I currently have a facebook account and only my closest friends are facebook friends with me. Everything else is private and nobody can even search for me or know I exist on facebook. I haven't installed any apps and have beacon turned off. I try the best to protect my privacy and facebook should not being going around giving info away like this.
I'm not so sure that it can be considered secret, given that when you install an application, it states up front that you are giving it access to your profile information.
Facebook's position was summed up by Georgetown Law Professor Dan Solove, 'They seem to be going on the assumption that if someone
uses Facebook, they really have no privacy concerns.'
"They seem to assume that people who post their name, address, sexual orientation and gender on giant roadside billboards don't care if strangers know their name, address, sexual orientation and gender! It's like they think that people who go out into the crowded streets don't care who knows what shirt they're wearing!"
Dude, what is so hard here? It is an API. Do people typically customize an API for every user (as in application using the API) to limit the available calls only to what is needed? It is an interface. The data available in said interface is CLEARLY DOCUMENTED. Yes, technically Scrabble has access to the religion of its users. Yes, it could be storing this.
Seriously, what is confusing here? You have to agree when you add an application that it will be able to access your profile data. When you say 'yes, allow this', why would you be surprised that the application is then allowed to do what you just allowed?
http://developers.facebook.com/documentation.php?doc=fql
I have never bought into the argument that communicating online should always be legally regarded as the equivalent of having a conversation in public. People frequently put access controls and encryption on information sent over the Internet, and it's not like every person on the Internet has the ability to listen in on what you're saying in an IM conversation, emails, etc. There should be a reasonable basis to assume privacy in certain contexts, such as email and IM. IMO, the law should sanction people who eavesdrop on such communications without a good reason.
With Facebook, it all depends on the context. They should be required to show what information they are passing onto their application developers, but there should be no legal protection beyond that. People should be able to sell off their personal information in exchange for something they want. The only reasonable issue here is when the user is not able to reasonably find out and consent to the sharing of the information.
Personally, I am a lot more concerned with things like the FBI's latest attempts to get carte blanche access to email. If there is any institution that will destroy privacy in America, it's the federal government. Every major information/privacy issue that comes back to haunt the average person stems from the law or law enforcement agencies. The reason we worry about identity theft on the financial side of things is that the **law** does not put the onus on the lender to verify the identity of their customer. Why should it be my responsibility to ensure that someone isn't signing up in my name for credit cards? You worry about devastating legal decisions for privacy? The precedents are being set by the DoJ, not corporate America.
I registered on Facebook with a made up name just to see what the fuzz was all about and found out that the only serious options you can choose when it comes to politics are:
Liberal
Very Liberal
Moderate
Conservative
Very Conservative
Libertarian
My first thought was "typical american bullshit", then I logged out never to return.
They are youngish and tend to be under-par in terms of computing/IT literacy. I have been asked by friends to create a Facebook account, which I have done albeit using an invented name and invented personal details (e.g. date of birth, home town, etc.) It's not a good idea to use Facebook in the manner in which it was intended.
It has the potential to be a really great tool, but there's a little too much social in this social network. The boundaries aren't clear and simple, and just about every transaction *REALLY WANTS* to share your information with other people.
I can't count how many times I've received notifications from people who were intending to send a private message to someone else. Whenever I do a quiz or something, I have to go out of my way not to "share with my friends" or "invite my friends to beat my score." I just want to have some fun and *CHOOSE* to have friends to participate, rather than having to do an extra step just to avoid sending out information about my activities.
At this point, I'm up to here with zombies and vampires. I log in to do the occasional fun quiz, or send a message to a friend who does more FB than email; otherwise, I stay away from FB.
The CB App. What's your 20?
So you're on facebook as George Bush?
Kevin Smith on Prince
Everything is going online. It is now, not in the future, that we demand privacy and protection.
I do everything online. This includes transmitting legal documents, banking and having meetings. When I have a meeting at a local restaurant, I don't expect them to bug my booth and listen in. Sure, having a conversation there isn't giving them "personally identifiable" information but aggregated, the information can identify me, my clients and my work.
When I use my bank, I don't want them to transmit my transactions save my name to a 3rd party. Why? Pretty soon someone can piece together my actions (always buying a beer at this location on friday night between 8:35-9:05pm) and me.
What I think we need is a blanket privacy statement and recompense if broken.
Every action I'm engaging in is now somehow online. My banking, entertainment purchases, my religious organizations. I only expect more and more of what I do to be online. It's the way of the future, databases and all that. You can say "just don't use it" but the reality is every action has become easier because someone created a database and now those databases are online.
> They seem to be going on the assumption that if someone uses Facebook, they really have
> no privacy concerns.
Sounds like a reasonable assumption to me.
> Do Facebook users deserve privacy?
Sure. And they can have it. All they need to do is keep the stuff that they want to remain private off Facebook.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
I'm sorry, am I missing the point of Facebook, or is it a PUBLIC SOCIAL NETWORKING site? If you have a problem with your drunk pictures making it to your boss's desk, or you'd rather keep your sexual orientation to yourself, then don't put it out there for the whole world to see. Simple as that. Sure there are "privacy settings", but come on we all know it'll get out there eventually through friends and links. That's just being realistic.
It's been a wild success: the most poopular Facebook applications have around 24 million users[...]
That's just it: no one who adds the applications gives a crap about their privacy. When you add an application, there are several checkboxes, and you don't have to have them ALL checked in order to add an application, but the only one you DO have to have checked is the "Allow this application to know who I am and to access my information" box. If you uncheck that and try to add the application, Facebook tells you that you need to have this checked, and if you don't feel safe about that, don't add the application. Therefore, IMHO, Facebook gives plenty of warning to those adding applications.
However, I have very few applications on my Facebook - I don't care about the OC, or Dawson's Creek Quotes, or Hot Or Not. I find that the demographic of people that add those kinds of applications don't give two shits about their privacy, and they never read the fine print. They just want to show their friends how much they like the OC or Dawson's Creek. It's just natural selection, internet-style.
Facebook users deserve privacy in the same way that swimmers deserve dryness.
The whole point of social networks is that it allows one to easily control the information that they radiate. Remember when all we had to go on was rumours? Now we know who is gay, we know whose brother was killed in a car accident last year, we know that our previous significant other is now dating again. All of these things that once might have been awkward to bring up are now just pieces of information. If facebook and myspace are any indication, people are tired of keeping secrets, and hearing rumours about themselves, and welcome the opportunity to control the information about themselves directly. I think that this age of information is the best thing that could be happening to this world right now.
One of the things I liked best about Facebook when joining was that it wouldn't reveal anything more than my name and photo to people searching for me until I approved them.
The way they handle privacy when it comes to applications is surprisingly out of step with that sort of sensibility. Which is why I won't install anything... it'd be one thing if I was told "this application needs to know your name, age and hometown" and the reasons made sense, but there's no way I'm installing "Happy Vampire Fun Wall O' Pirates" under the blanket provision that it gets to know whatever private information it wants about me.
Yet it doesn't seem to stop anyone else, as I still get bombarded by endless requests for such things... I suppose people are just more willing to trust a faceless application than they are the actual individuals they know might be looking them up...
Dan.
These people are putting their personal information up on a site, the purpose of which is to share your personal information on. Now, granted there are varying degrees of access you can grant people, but I wouldn't assume too much privacy in doing so. I think the real problem here is people just assume they can go handing out whatever willy nilly and it'll just "all work out."
My take? If you don't want your information shared with abandon, don't put it on a site that has made its while business on sharing personal information with abandon. I've really never understood this silly social networking on the web fad (but then I'm just an old fogie on the inside).
So, one day, I just sat down and yanked most of the applications out. so, if you send me something on the Funwall, sorry - I won't be seeing it. And if you have some dorky movie compatibility quiz, I won't be playing the game. If you want to contact me, there's a facility for sending messages and comments. If you can't get put enough words together to do that, then you're probably not one of my friends, anyway.
Facebook has outlived its usefulness.
Perhaps something like allvoices.com will be the next big thing because there, you have to do something - contribution to the data matters more than just being a consuming node for a data mine.
RS
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
As you know, IQ doesn't necessarily correlate positively with the hours in front of a computer. It may have been true in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, and to some extent the 90s, but surely not for this decade... The undeniable charm of the Internet destroyed that. :)
-
I've turned off the API (had to remove all the applications that aren't built-in to Facebook to do so, but I knew that) ...And I still get spam in my news feed from some friend adding an Application.
I block every single one my friends add, mainly because blocking an application turns off the spam in the news feed from all the applications. It's common knowledge on Slashdot: blacklists suck.
I'm actually trying to use Facebook in the manner it was prescribed, but in order to protect some semblance of my information I have to be very choosy in what I provide.
There is no balance. It's either world-viewable or non-existent.
University of Vagina. Crap, I need new glasses :\
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. (A. Einstein)
I have a friend who thought that the check box "Allow this application to know who I am and access my information" meant:
Allow it to know my name. Allow it to 'know' the info I put into the application itself. Ie, what I type INTO the funwall. She didn't know that it meant 'access my PROFILE information'.
I think this should be clarified to: "know who I am and access all of my profile information."
I was a sophomore when Facebook was put onto the series of tubes. At first I was reluctant to sign up, and for the same reason most are inciting right now: loss of privacy. I mulled it over and realized that Facebook was a good tool to keep in touch with people you could not or would not see that often. This can be important, especially in the college environment the site was designed for. You'd have one class with someone you were interested in - either as a friend or something else - and then you'd never see them again. So for those of us who wanted to continue keeping in contact with one another on a semi-regular basis, we could just look each other up on Facebook. The same went for getting in contact with old high-school buddies, too.
But depending on how you use it, it can be a good or bad thing. Anybody who has used Facebook could easily use it to scan different people they like and try to find out more about their personal life (and trust me, many people do it). If a girl or guy you like is "in a relationship", that feels pretty bad. But hey, if they don't even list themselves as "in a relationship" and are seeing somebody, is that worse? It's a real insecure thing to do, but college students are about as insecure as they come.
In all honestly I made a bunch of stupid mistakes on my Facebook profile that got me into some trouble with friends - thankfully, it didn't have any impact on my professional life - but I learned my lesson the hard way. From what I can tell, there's no harm in Facebook as long as you don't post "naughty" stuff like discriminatory remarks and racy photographs. You might as well wear an "I'm with stupid" t-shirt to every job interview and career fair you attend.
Now, though, you have to be wary of anything you put onto your profile because you don't know which program will take information from it. Big business found Facebook and thought to itself "That's a huge demographic", just like they thought when they first discovered the World Wide Web.
I don't see how this is a big secret. When you add an application there is a checkbox that says (and I quote), "Allow this application to... Know who I am and access my information." If you uncheck this box Facebook tells you "Granting access to information is REQUIRED to add applications. If you are not willing to grant access to your information, DO NOT ADD THIS APPLICATION."
I saw this the first time I went to add a Facebook app, and thought "hey, I don't want that, so I'm not going to add it."
Facebook is an advertising platform just like everyone else, so either I'm missing something (which, I'll admit is entirely possible--I recognize that I make mistakes all the time), or is there really a story here?
BTW, just read the terms of service for each application--if it doesn't say what they will do with your data, don't add the app. Then it isn't a whole lot different than putting the same data into any other web application. Also, being aware that this can happen, don't put data on your facebook profile you don't want the rest of the world seeing. It's not rocket science-just common sense.
You just invented P2P.
I'm a newbie Facebook app developer.
Here's the info I can see for any user that adds my app and clicks the box:
uid*, first_name, last_name, name*, pic_small, pic_big, pic_square, pic, affiliations, profile_update_time, timezone, religion, birthday, sex, hometown_location, meeting_sex, meeting_for, relationship_status, significant_other_id, political, current_location, activities, interests, is_app_user, music, tv, movies, books, quotes, about_me, hs_info, education_history, work_history, notes_count, wall_count, status, has_added_app
(More info on the already-linked http://developers.facebook.com/documentation.php?doc=fql )
To me this seems like way, way too much. I haven't told our marketing people we can get all this.
Why is the application not treated as-if it were another user? From what I understand, there is a reasonable granularity of privacy settings for users. Let each app be a unique user, and you automatically get these benefits.
Or are the apps client-based, so that my Facebook on machine X can use apps and on machine Y it cannot, because of how it was set up? In this case, I suppose that I understand (since an app running as "me" only restricts "my" privacy as a favor, and cannot be compelled or punished, except by deletion).
Deserve privacy? Probably, but these are same people who post pictures of themselves engaging in illegal/inappropriate activities (underage drinking, drug use, etc.), and then wonder why "the wrong people" got into their "personal" files.
What they truly deserve is "common sense" to know that posting things on the net (or on any computer/space outside YOUR control) means others could have access to that information, and to think and consider what to do before you use it. Likewise they should have enough common sense to think that if they choose to divulge information about themselves Wholesale, they shouldn't be surprised when Identity theft rates skyrocket in the near-future, once some unscrupulous character gets a hold of the data Facebook is happy to dish up.
This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
the title of this post should read "People are sharing too much personal data with Facebook"...
Solove is not at Georgetown, he is at George Washington. (I'm a student of his, posting from a public terminal in the George Washington University Law complex.) His book, The Future of Reputation talks about a lot of the issues raised by this article. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this sort of thing.
No one is forcing you to use the apps, or facebook at all for that matter. Personally, I just don't put anything in facebook that I'd be upset about being public.
That said, it would be nice if they had granular control over what is released to apps, like they do for every other aspect of the site.
Dude, keep quiet!!! My fake Method Man profile has over 15k friends...and we're data mining like never before!
My thought on how to fix this is to mandate each application to request specific information instead of just getting access to everything.
That way when people add applications they are prompted to allow an application access to specific information. I believe that if people realized exactly what information was being shared, rather than "Know who I am and access my information", they would think twice on adding applications that required irrelevant information.
I agree with you to a degree. If you REALLY can't afford to have something read by others, then DO NOT POST IT ONLINE PERIOD.
However, the world is not black and white.
Consider walking down the street. Theoretically, you could have your picture taken and posted online. There are things you do in public that you assume will not be placed online. If you assumed everything would go online to be seen by everyone, you probably couldn't function properly in society.
Realistically, there is a tradeoff...
To share information about people who, like me, are living overseas.
"The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Yesh, my precious.... We all realize you're all pervs. No, I'm not!
*faps frantically to drunken college girls making out*
"The fight for freedom has only just begun." - Geert Wilders
Ever since facebook added those stupid applications to their site people feel the need to add EVERY SINGLE ONE to their profile. Often times it takes several rolls of the mouse wheel to post a comment on someones wall (assuming you skip past their "advanced wall" and "super happy fun wall")
Facebook used to have a great sense of style on their site (something myspace has always lacked) but since they've opened their site up to blind/color blind developers it sucks.
I've tried to avoid the applications like the plague, since I've always figured they got access to more information than I wanted, but there are a few apps that work well and look good at the same time.
"During My Service In The United States Congress, I Took The Initiative In Creating The Internet." -Al Gore
So, your solution to Facebook sharing too much of your personal information is for you to host your personal information yourself then share it via a P2P-like system with as many free software owners as possible?
You seem to have overlooked the fact that you only have to give Facebook as much personal data as you feel you want to share. How does changing the distribution method absolve you of the care of your info?
"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
Just a few thoughts I've had about the so called social networking revolution: Initially, I didn't mind facebook and I had one of my own. I used to keep in touch with people at school. It was simple, you couldn't add any ridiculous templates to the site like MySpace. It was visually appealing, etc. Then they decided to introduce feeds. Everyone pretty much hated this, and I think eventually they scaled it back a little bit, but you essentially knew every time someone entered something into someones wall. Not really the service I signed up for, but I could deal with it. THEN they opened up their API, probably the single dumbest move I've ever seen. Now I'm getting emails to join the battlestar gallactica game on facebook and getting stupid quotes from television shows in my mailbox every f'n day. AGAIN, Not the service I SIGNED up for. Bottom line is, I understand when I signed away my rights they could pretty much change the terms at any time, but how much is TOO MUCH. To make matters worse, I can't delete my account. Facebook has no option to rid their databases of your personal information. Apparently their database administrators aren't sophisticated enough to develop a DELETE statement!
There is no secret - of course Facebook shares information with the applications its' users installed, the users agree to grant access to the applications every time they add one. At what point does personal responsibility become part of the equation? How many times does Facebook or any other system for that matter, have to ask you if you're *sure* you want to let people know that your favorite color is green. And honestly, does it really matter that much? Facebook doesn't share any of you're legitimately sensitive information with the applications i.e. phone number, IM contact information, email address, etc... Furthermore, Facebook applications are only allowed to store a very limited amount of anonymized information (IDs that require users' permission to be exchanged for associated data) about their users for a limited time and are required by the TOS to delete it if the user removes the app.
Your photo albums are shared to EVERYONE by default, and there is no way to change the default. You have to manually change every album separately.
I think the shift you're noting has more to do with the overwhelming bulk of e-mail than any perceived lack of privacy. I am finding that many of the e-newsletters and things I used to think were so entertaining/useful/enlightening/etc. are now just junking up my overcrowded inbox. I would much rather get a brochure in the mail than to try to save a dozen huge online brochures and have to read them on my screen... or to have an e-mail volley with some recruiter who may or may not ever stop spamming me.
The House Between - Original Sci-Fi Series
Even pictures you didn't know existed get posted on the Internet and become essentially public information tied to you through facebook due to your meddling friends. This is how my privacy was breached: I accepted a friend's invitation to join Facebook. I input my real name, username and a password. That's it, I added no other details because I didn't really want an account, I just wanted to see pictures in his profile. Little did I know that I'd be subsequently deluged with requests from various acquaintances to reconnect after a dozen or more years -- I graciously accepted connect invitations, but refused to add any applications at all. Then a number of my friends who snap pictures at bars we hang out at or football game we go to, started identifying me in various snapshots, and these pictures are forever tied to my account. No I'm not happy about this, but serves me right for even signing up in the first place.
Of course, Facebook has a jihad on privacy and we, slashdotters, understand that every piece of data you give them directly, plus some data they get indirectly, is forever theirs to aggregate, analyze and sell. We also know that some people, specially college students are under enormous peer pressure to join it but, in our characteristic disregard for socialization, blame them for their weakness of character, and down right stupidity.
But, our culture is littered with evidence that we do in fact protect people from themselves all the time. We protect minors from alcohol, we protect children from sex, we protect drivers from accidents, we protect everybody from drug abuse. We protect -as much as possible- everybody from jumping from building, we protect people from falling of riffs, we protect people from wet floor for Gaia's sake.
Of course some of these protections are debatable but the fact is that we do protect people from themselves, all the time. So yes, we have to heavily regulate the activities of Facebook or any other site with such potential for disaster. There is no question about it. Or you disagree because...?
But... the future refused to change.
Facebook believes me to be named Duncan Idaho, with a hometown on Giedi Prime, and a "Follower of Muad-dib." I, frankly, could give a damn whether or not they sell that information.
Of course, since the last time the FBI came to visit me (for using Dune as the basis for a RESIGNATION LETTER), maybe I should be more careful. . .
My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
I just came from my facebook page, and I looked it over very carefully, and there isn't information on there that I care if the "corporate fat cats" know or not, does it help them to know that I am interested in "boring crap"... or that when asked to describe myself i say "I'm tall like things that look ugly music thats bad, hate dorks, but love dorky stuff".... my point is that b/c something is out there doesn't make it dangerous. and Personal information on facebook doesn't include bank accounts, credit cards or social security numbers. So why do people care? And: Hasn't market research been doing this for years? look at cigarettes Salem, are seen as a city kind of new young hip brand, while Marlboro are the cowboy rebel cigarettes, why? becuase they found out those brands were being bought mostly by those people so they changed the image to support that And voting data too? We[the US] can break down the votes for the past 10 elections by race, age, number of brothers and sisters, heritage, and damn near anything else we can think of. At the very worst breakdown of privacy on this level will help alert you[facebook users] to products you may enjoy... if your so anti-corporate that that bothers you, then why do you have a facebook?
Privacy is not a matter of money, it is a matter of will.
And in some cases a matter of compliance with the law, I would be very surprised if they are not breaking EU or UK law... An enterprising solicitor will get them by the short hairy ones.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
When you meet strangers the get the first name, at most. Never the full name.
At that point I decided not to join this "revolution"....
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I put only the most limited info in my profile, basically that I am a 32 year old, liberal pastafarian but i still try to keep unwanted apps away from my info. I rarely install thrid party apps (i think i have 2 or 3 installed), and i only do it for apps made by people who have that info anyway. I wasn't aware that my friends apps could access my info without installing them, if they can then why would you have to install them? I have tried to disable it by following the instructions in the article but there simply isn't the "other apps" section in my privacy settings it refers to. Anyone else had this problem?
is in this week's Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/free/2008/02/1489n.htm
Ah, so that is why I have started getting ICQ spam recently... something I haven't had for years. I guess what they say is true: if it is information you don't want to share with the public, do not put it on the Internet!