The recent changes to Facebook's privacy policies have prompted many users of the popular social networking site to start Facebook groups and pages such as "Facebook has no privacy AT ALL!", "I hate the new facebook privacy settings" and "Facebook: End privacy issues within 1 month or we disappear".
I personally was concerned when I first got the Facebook pop-up telling me the privacy settings had changed and that not only would third-party sites (meaning someone who was neither me nor Facebook) that I approved be able to keep my personal information indefinitely, but third-party sites my FRIENDS used could snag my information as well! I went through and scoured the new privacy settings to make sure that my information was only available to those people I wanted to share it with. It was a tedious and confusing process and was meant, in my eyes, more to make people give up in frustration than to actually help them maintain their privacy.
Tuesday there were reports of a security hole in the website Yelp (which is one of the test partners in Facebook's "Instant Personalization" program) that put user data from Facebook users at risk. The "Instant Personalization" program automatically imports Facebook profile information to third-party partners. The Yelp scare is in addition to two other Facebook-related security holes that came to light last week. These security breaches have done much to damage the already-in-question reputation of Facebook.
Facebook announced that it has begun discussing the level of user information it shares with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, but as for myself, that seems more of a way to save Face(book) than an indication of any actual consideration for users fears and concerns.
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