The back-and-forth on Facebook's privacy travails

Whether the terse discussions in the public arena over Facebook’s privacy “changes” demonstrate that the world’s largest social network is playing fast and loose with the truth about its internal controls on user privacy, or whether it is just an example of poor corporate communication of policies to end users is still a matter of debate. See Glitch Brings New Worries About Facebook’s Privacy - NYTimes.com.

Last week, the author of the Times’ technology blog Bits invited readers to submit questions for Facebook's vice president for public policy, Elliot Schrage. She probably got more than she (or Schrage) expected – in fact, over 300 of them. Schrage’s response is published in today’s blog entry: Facebook Executive Answers Reader Questions - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com.

For a completely different view of Mr. Schrage’s comments, I found Catharine Taylor’s post at Social Media Insider to raise some important questions.

Federal Trade Commission hosts privacy roundtable today

The FTC kicks off the first in a series of "roundtable" discussions to explore privacy challenges posed by 21st technology and business practices that collect and use consumer data. Today's roundtable is being held in Washington, DC, and will focus on data collection, use and retention, consumer expectations of privacy, online behavioral advertising, information brokers and a discussion surrounding existing regulatory frameworks.

The event is being streamed live at the FTC website.


Live Webcast here

Privacy and Security Bits and Bytes

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year -- It's time for the annual "top ten" lists. Information Security Resources has posted an article that is eye-opening reading with respect to data breaches in 2009. Ten Most Damaging Data Breaches of 2009

U.S. to Join Fingerprint Sharing -- CBC News - Canada reports that the U.S. will join Canada, Australia and Britain in sharing fingerprints and other data to help authorities discern people's true identities in cracking down on asylum shopping and unlawful immigration.

Another site thinks "Privacy Matters" --
The Interactive Advertising Bureau yesterday launched an online campaign aimed at educating consumers about targeted advertising. On its website, IAB Privacy Matters, the IAB describes how marketers collect and use information about users' Web activities. IAB Senior Vice President David Doty said the site describes "in plain English" how online advertising works and includes guidance on how users can adjust their settings to control their information. The site is part of a broader effort among ad industry trade groups to head off potential regulation, the report states.

Facebook Changing -- Again -- Facebook will roll out new privacy controls in the coming weeks, reports itnews. The new options will let users control who sees their posts on a per-post basis. In an open letter to users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: "We're adding something that many of you have asked for--the ability to control who sees each individual piece of content you create or upload." The company will also roll out a simplified privacy settings page with a "walk-through" option where users can get recommendations from Facebook. In addition, the company will shutter its regional networks.