Slashdot Mirror
European Users Overwhelm Facebook With Data Requests
An anonymous reader writes "If you've ever wondered how much personal data Facebook holds about you then prepare to be surprised. Using European data privacy laws, it's possible to request the data Facebook has stored about you. The document can total 800 pages covering everything from the expected name, address, and date of birth, right through to every event you've attended, every message you've deleted, and your political and religious views."
The best part is that Facebook has to send a physical disc containing the data. This has been exploited by a number of users, completely overwhelming Facebook's ability to make the discs.
I'm pretty sure they do it this way for the same reason most rebates are still mail-in. They don't expect the user to actually do it out of inconvenience. If it was as simple as clicking a button on the internet, more people would be aware of how much data they actually collect.
You may not use Facebook, but that doesn't mean you're not on it. You may be in a picture, or mentioned in a comment somewhere by a friend. You can be tagged, at which point it's your full name, picture, (time-dependent) location, the activity you were engaged in (therefore hobbies or social activities), you are linked with others tagged in that photo and their hobbies, religions, political affiliations, relationships. Someone could mention that you were at the office party, at which point they know you work for the same company as $FBuser.
Don't assume that because you didn't create a profile yourself that Facebook doesn't have one anyway.
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If Facebook finds it expensive and inconvenient to mail out physical CDs, they could agree to allow at least optional delivery by other means, such as over the internet.
If Facebook finds it expensive and inconvenient to mail out physical CDs, they could agree to simply not collect and store all that data.
There - fixed that for you!
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
This may not be a popular viewpoint, but I think it's a very relevant issue, and I do not use Facebook. I believe its very existence is an ethical issue though. Facebook represents a truly evil company, not in the unethical-business-practices sense, but a whole different order of that, I'd say they're rapidly approaching Gestapo-evil. Facebook stores enough information to learn a lot about specific individuals, and Facebook is conditioning people to give up their privacy. It might just be one of the most useful tools for an oppressive government or unethical intelligence organization to blackmail someone or, better, ruin their public image.
Facebook is not run by idiots. Those people know what they're doing, they know they're storing even "deleted" data and they know they're building very detailed profiles on every user. They also, unlike most of actual Facebook users, probably have the intelligence and foresight to imagine how it all may be used for horrible things, so there's no way I can see them as morally innocent.