EU warns on Facebook privacy

[CielOnTap]

Facebook gets poked by Canada over privacy
Ottawa leads way in prompting changes to social networking site
Jul 17, 2009 04:30 AM
Susan Delacourt
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA–Canada has become the first country in the world to rein in Facebook's giant, information-sharing machine, with the federal privacy commissioner taking a poke at the global, social-networking site for being too loose with users' personal data.

Facebook Inc., which has 250 million users worldwide including an estimated 12 million in this country, pledged yesterday to work with Canada to improve its privacy settings, especially with regard to third parties who put games and quizzes on Facebook.

"We're going to continue the dialogue," Chris Kelly, chief privacy officer for Facebook, said in a phone interview from Facebook's headquarters in California. "We have every confidence that we'll come to an acceptable conclusion." http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/667700

The privacy issue was on the newscasts and newspapers yesterday. Ontario has a very alert privacy commissioner who also points out matters that can compromise residents' privacy.

[CielOnTap]

Wonderful news to learn of Facebook and the privacy commissioner of Canada are working out a solution to concerns raised about the social networking site. They could teach political parties something about cooperative teamwork.

Facebook, privacy commissioner make friends
Aug 17, 2009 12:32 PM
Susan Delacourt
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA – Friendship, fittingly, appears to have broken out in the dispute between Canada's privacy commissioner and the Facebook social networking site.

Today is the 30-day deadline for Facebook to respond to a strongly worded report issued last month by Canada's privacy commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, criticizing how people's personal information was being treated by the global giant in online friendships.If Stoddart is not happy with Facebook's response, she has 15 days to decide whether to get the Federal Court of Canada involved.

But the two sides appear to be solving their problems in harmony. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/682182

[CielOnTap]

Here's the result of Canada's privacy commissioner and Facebook work on a privacy policy that satisfies both sides:

Facebook makes privacy changes
Aug 27, 2009 12:49 PM
Joanna Smith
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA - Facebook has agreed to change some of its privacy policies in response to criticism from a Canadian watchdog over how much personal information it was keeping on file and sharing with third-party application developers.

The changes, such as altering language in its privacy policy, will take place within the next month or so. More complicated technical changes will take up to a year.

"We are satisfied that with these changes Facebook is on the way to meeting the requirements of Canada's privacy law," federal privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said this morning after revealing the popular social networking site has agreed to change the way it collects, stores and shares personal data within a year. "The privacy of people using the site, not only in Canada but around the world, will be far better protected. http://www.thestar.com/article/687227

[CielOnTap]

Friends for sale
Sep 17th 2009 | NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition

What is a Facebook friend worth?

ONLINE social networks are handy not just as a means of wasting time but also as a communications tool for business. Dell, a computer-maker, has made $3m in sales from Twitter since it started “tweeting” about its outlet that sells refurbished computers in 2007. Marketers are eager to use fast-growing networks to tout their products. An Australian online-marketing company, uSocial, wants to help them—for a price. On September 16th the firm started selling Facebook friends and fans.

After trawling Facebook for users by criteria like age, location and interests, uSocial then recommends potential friends to companies, who approach them directly. A firm pays $727 for each 5,000 users who agree to be its friend, or 15 cents each. “Fans”, who merely express support for a firm, are cheaper. http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14460087&fsrc=nwl

There is mention of 300m users of Facebook. How many are deleted or inactive users?

[Smitty]

Just wish the twitters & their tools are taken out of the hands of all for so many are driving a car, truck, bus to be yakking away on twitter so obviously Facebook. Even worse then a cellular phone.

Last Auturm I was suddely facing a car/truck heading directly onto me in the dark of the night. I chould have stayed there stopped & taken the hit, but only way to avoid it was to hit the curb I could not see properly. He/she missed me & could be a drunk, on drugs, doing cellular yattering, or onto twittering to lastly monkeying around with the dials or such of their cage, but did NOT see my Subaru 'Forester'.

That blow to the right front wheel got me to the stop sign & just a short distance to the right when the front wheel was shot. No cellular or such & just had to wait for some help that came from one with a cellular to call a tow truck that made the change, for at the time I was trying to heal up with a broken right hip.

I was with a couple last evening for a home cooked meal & both will NOT drive at not due to the present dangers of so many driving cars with the above in their hands constantly.

[CielOnTap]

Facebook rolls out new privacy tool
1 hour, 49 minutes ago

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Facebook on Wednesday began calling on users to get a better grip on their online privacy by dictating who sees what in profiles at the world's leading social networking service.

All of Facebook's more than 350 million members will be required to refine settings with a new software tool that lets them specify who gets to be privy to each photo, video, update or other piece of content uploaded to the website.

"We care so much about this that we will require people to go through it to get access to the service," Facebook vice president of global communications, marketing and public policy Elliot Schrage told AFP.Privacy tool

[Smitty]

I do not below to said facebook or the other one called spacebook if it is still in existance. True I am on m/c boards to h/gun boards to Speak-Ez.

Several chaps are a bit peeved that I will not send them a photo of myself for being a m/c rider that is 79+ yrs of age & been in competition of most forms for some 43 yrs some doubt what I say on matters. I will not give them my addres for privacy is in a way sort of important to me.

One chap from up in the lovely Kootney mountain terrain has been down to my place a few times as we have got along on m/c matters. When showing him some of my bikes, I ride, he took a photo & I did say "I really do not like to have my kisser in a photo" So while the shot came out well said rider as never mentioned or showen the photo. That is honesty I like. When I use to be racing the photo would not show the face even with an open face crash helmet. When a group photo is being taken, much as I try to resist it this is when I turn my head in a blure just at the shutter is pressed. So photos when a kid are so different to someone my age now.

[pretzels]

Five months after that talk with Canada's privacy commissioner got Facebook cracking on their new privacy code. Good to get that in motion now, so eager sharers can modify settings before telling the world what they got for the holidays.

Though in light of Hollywood celebrity home breakins, it is better to not share everything online. Really restrain yourselves otherwise family and insurance people will want answers and your $$$.

[alohasand]

Now adults and parents have to get in on the privacy settings too-know what to post and what not to post and how settings work. Better to have a hard copy of photos at home in a box or album than scanned for the whole world to see.

[fishandchips]

Viruses embarrass Facebook, Twitter users

New York Times News Service
SAN FRANCISCO (Dec 14, 2009)
It used to be that computer viruses attacked only your hard drive. Now they attack your dignity.

Malicious programs are rampaging through websites such as Facebook and Twitter, spreading themselves by taking over people's accounts and sending out messages to all of their friends and followers. The result is people inadvertently telling their co-workers and loved ones how to raise their IQs, make money instantly on Google or watch an awesome new video in which they star.

"I wonder what people are thinking of me right now?" said Matt Marquess, an employee at a San Francisco public relations firm whose Twitter account was recently hijacked, showering his followers with messages that appeared to offer a $500 gift card to Victoria's Secret.http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/690292

Then there were Facebook users seeing red at the new privacy settings, which Facebook introduced last week. Everyone's profile photo is public.