Facebook takes steps to protect personal information in Canada; could become model globally

The popular networking site Facebook is taking steps its executives say will offer more protection to the rights of users within the next 12 months. The technical and privacy policy changes contain several initiatives designed to sooth concerns raised by the Privacy Commissioner in July. “These changes are the result of a productive relationship we’ve had with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada,” said Michael Richter, deputy general counsel, in a conference call with journalists today. Under the changes to its private policy, Facebook promises to do a better job on several fronts, including explaining to users why it collects information about their birthdates, and outlining differences between deactivating and deleting an account. The sharing of such information with third users is contentious and has raised the ire of several users in Canada. At today’s press conference, assistant privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham called the sharing of information with Facebook’s third party developers “our top concern.” “There are more than one million of these developers around the globe. We are alarmed by a lack of adequate safeguards to effectively restrict those developers from accessing users’ personal information—as well as information about their online “friends.” The notion that some teenager in a basement on the other side of the world could have access to all this personal information is unsettling, to say the least,” said Denham. Among other things, Richter committed to make changes to wording in the statement of rights and responsibilities to answer the concerns raised by the privacy commissioner. In addition, when new users sign up, restrictions will be placed on what type of information can be shared. But Jordan Plener, one of the former interns who filed the complaint against Facebook on behalf of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa, says he’s curious as to how Facebook is going to implement the change. “I was a little bit worried because it seemed like they weren’t quite sure how they were going to implement a permission-based system for third party applications. They seem pretty sure that when a user signs up, they will be able to restrict some information and Facebook will provide the user with notice on what information is going to be shared,” he said in an interview. But as Facebook mulls the changes, there are also questions on whether developers will be able to handle the stringent steps needed to protect users’ information when they use Facebook applications. David Morin, a senior platform manager at Facebook, said he “sympathizes” with application developers, but added that Facebook has been working closely with them to ensure that private information is protected. Although Facebook executives could not be specific on the nitty-gritty details of the changes required in the applications, they reassured users that the applications will be easy to use and will not prompt an exodus of users to Facebook’s competitors. As well, there are also questions about the cost of the changes—which could be potentially expensive—to the applications, but Richter said Facebook has yet to determine the exact figures, adding that: “Cost is not our focus here.” Facebook executives also conceded that the privacy concerns raised in Canada resonate well in the European Union and the case might be used as a benchmark for changes world-wide. Plener welcomed the move saying any “proactive” move to protect users’ privacy is highly desirable. “That’s what we were sort of hoping for. And not to toot our own horn or anything, but just to set a precedent so that other social networking sites like MySpace are aware of what’s going on. Without suggestions or requirements by the Privacy Commissioner, they can still go along and make changes,” he said, adding that this should serve as a warning to other social networking sites. “If MySpace and other sites continue to have poor protection for users’ personal information, then there’s nothing stopping us from launching a case against it. There is nothing stopping anyone from doing so. I think they have to be aware that they have to make changes. I hope this is enough to push them to the right direction,” added Plener.

Facebook takes steps to protect personal information in Canada; could become model globally

News | 08/27/2009 8:38 pm EDT

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