Privacy groups are assailing Facebook after the world’s largest social networking website made changes to its privacy settings this week.The changes allow users to apply more specific privacy settings to the content they post on the site. But many of the default settings mean that, unless users follow a prompt to go in and change their settings, they end up sharing most of their information with everyone on the internet.
“Under the banner of simplification, Facebook has pushed users to downgrade their privacy,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a US advocacy group.
Facebook first announced the changes in July. Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive, reiterated them in an open letter to users last week when he also announced the site had 350m users.
As Facebook has grown, privacy advocates have grown increasingly concerned that users are ceding control of their most intimate – and valuable – information.
“These new ‘privacy’ changes are clearly intended to push Facebook users to publicly share even more information,” said Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a US digital rights group. “Even worse, the changes will actually reduce the amount of control that users have over some of their personal data.”
Facebook maintains that it is not trying to trick users into sharing more data. The latest settings offer more control of what information users share and with whom, it has said.
However, the company acknowledged that the introduction of the settings could lead users to make more of their information publicly available.
“As a result of providing more control, there will be more sharing,” said Elliot Schrage, vice-president of public policy for Facebook, on a conference call on Wednesday.
Along with other internet companies, Facebook has been working on the delicate balance between storing personal data and using that information to enhance services and gain a business edge. The issue of privacy has dogged Facebook since its inception in 2005.
Google, the search engine, has also faced criticism for storing users’ information and using it to enhance its targeted advertising.
“The data is more valuable to the companies that possess it when it can be more widely used,” said Mr Rotenberg. “It’s more valuable for advertisers and more valuable for search companies. It’s not clear what the user benefit is.”
Because of Facebook’s sizeable social footprint, Mr Rotenberg said it was unlikely users would abandon it for a newer social network. But he expects a push for better regulation.
“I think you’re going to see a political maturing of the Facebook community,” he said. “These are issues that require legislation and some regulation.”
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