Privacy Commissioner launches second probe into Facebook

A public interest advocacy group is pleased to see the Privacy Commissioner of Canada launch a second investigation into Facebook’s privacy settings, saying “we are not done with Facebook.” This is Stoddart’s second probe into Facebook’s privacy policies. In July 2009, the commissioner released a report highlighting her concerns over Facebook’s policies dealing with how it handles personal information, including disclosing whether it is deleted when an account is deactivated. In August, Facebook agreed to modify its website within a year to address the report’s concerns, and began work to meet the requirements. Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) director David Fewer told The Wire Report he was “happy to see” the new probe. “The late 2009 changes were a huge step back for privacy on Facebook,” he said. “They were clear violations of the spirit of the privacy commissioner’s report … we are not done with Facebook.” Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart's new probe, announced Wednesday, is based on a complaint by an unnamed individual who says the social networking site’s default privacy settings, which were modified in mid-December, make user information more available than before. “The individual’s complaint mirrors some of the concerns that our Office has heard and expressed to Facebook in recent months,” assistant privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham said in a release. “Some Facebook users are disappointed by certain changes being made to the site – changes that were supposed to strengthen their privacy and the protection of their personal information.” CIPPIC filed a complaint against Facebook last year, arguing that the website harbored 22 violations of Canada’s privacy laws. After the investigation is completed, Stoddart will issue recommendations and establish a deadline by which the office’s concerns must be met. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner did not take questions by phone Wednesday, but referred to a previous report by the commissioner. The commissioner will follow up with Facebook, according to the release. Facebook spokesman for Canada Alex Brown said in an email that Facebook has yet to view the complaint. “We are confident that the transition process begun more than a month ago was transparent, consistent with user expectations, and within the law,” Brown said. “Any recommended changes to a user’s privacy settings were clearly shown to the user repeatedly and were not implemented until the user accepted these changes. In addition, users were required to review the final settings after any changes and pointed to where they could reverse or further customize their settings.”

Privacy Commissioner launches second probe into Facebook

Broadcast | January 27, 2010

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