Facebook Wins 'Big Brother' Award in Belgium After Being Declared Worst Privacy Villain (cnet.com)

Facebook won the "Big Brother" award in Belgium on Thursday, after people in the nation reached a conclusion that the social juggernaut is the ultimate privacy villain. "Facebook is a multi-billion dollar company that has one commodity - you!" said Joe McNamee, Executive Director of European Digital Rights. From a CNET report: Facebook, nominated by international digital advocacy group EDRi, won after being criticized for its default privacy settings in a unanimous decision. The social network didn't respond to requests for comment. "Facebook has access to a wide range of personal data, and it tracks your movements across the web, whether you are logged in or not," EDRi said. "And the devil is in the default: To opt out, you are expected to navigate Facebook's complex web of settings."

Comments

Google?

[jenningsthecat]

This award is only fair if Google won it before Facebook did. As evil as the Zuck is when it comes to tracking people, I'd say Google is far worse. Also, some security extensions in a browser can put a serious dent in Facebook's tracking with almost no detrimental effects to the everyday browsing experience. But if you consistently apply those same safeguards to Google, the Web becomes a whole lot less usable.