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Facebook’s liberal interpretation of the very concept of privacy is sending ripples far beyond the confines of the ultra-paranoid.
The New York Times recently wrote an article on the Price of Facebook Privacy, and pointed out that while the United States Constitution contains only 4,543 words, Facebook’s Privacy Policy contain 5,830.
With more than 400 million registered users, Facebook have apparently decided that they can amend their terms as they see fit, with recent changes including requiring their users to actively opt out if they wish their information to remain private. By default, most information is public, and some personal data has already been shared with other websites.
Worse still is the fact that (according to the article) Facebook users who wish to keep their personal information private have to click more than 50 privacy buttons, which then require choosing among a total of over 170 options.
Privacy fears are nothing new, and big corporations like Google are already supporting the aluminium foil industry through the ever-paranoid ‘enlightened few’. But this issue appears to be a growing concern for more stable users too. And a news item on search engine land shows a huge spike of traffic to a guide on how to delete your Facebook account.
Who would have thought that you’d need a guide?
Facebook appear to be hovering dangerously close to a very clear line. The fact that the issue is now public means that they can no longer afford to sit on the fence and make token amendments to their policy and systems.
In much the same way that an avalanche can be triggered by the movement of a few snowflakes, Facebook’s demise could become very real very quickly.
It’s time to listen to their users and respond accordingly.
