Some Social Networking Developments

If you are a regular user of online social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others, you want to check out a new research paper by a couple of researchers at AT&T Labs and Worcester Polytech that points to some disturbing evidence of the “leakage” of personally identifiable information from the social networking sites to third party advertisers through cookies. The study is reportedly the first of its kind to describe a way by which tracking sites could directly link browsing habits to specific individuals. Privacy advocates have certainly taken notice: Electronic Frontier Foundation calls social networking privacy study alarming.

Also, if you are a Facebook user, be on the lookout for some changes to the Privacy Policy. Canada’s Privacy Commissioner held a press conference this morning to announce that Facebook has agreed to implement a host of changes responding to an investigation by Canadian regulators, including changes that will give users more control over third-party applications.

Speech: Remarks at a Press Conference on the Facebook Investigation by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada – August 27, 2009
Facebook Tweaks Privacy Policy in Face of Inquiry - InternetNews.com