
Yesterday, we shared our thoughts on what Facebook’s newly announced Open Graph technology could mean for user privacy. But we’re not the only ones who had an opinion. Throughout the web, tech journalists and bloggers have been dissecting Facebook’s announcements from every possible angle.
Today, I wanted to take time to highlight five different articles focused on the privacy implications of the Open Graph announcement. If you know of any additional analysis that you find interesting please feel free to leave a link in the comments.
–
ReadWriteWeb: Why You Should Delete Your Facebook Applications
ReadWriteWeb’s Sarah Perez has analyzed Facebook’s policy changes and has come to one conclusion: delete your Facebook apps. In her article, Sarah specifically focuses on a Facebook change that allows developers to store and cache user data indefinitely (previously, they could only store data for 24 hours).
“On its own, the new data retention policy doesn’t change how developers can use the data they store. In fact, for some developers, it won’t change much of anything at all – many simply ignored Facebook’s rules about data retention in the past. Even with the change, it’s just business as usual for those developers and their apps.
That said, the indefinite storage now permitted is concerning for a few reasons. As security engineer Joey Tyson points out on his blog, a site where he has detailed numerous hacks and security holes for Facebook, Google and more, the change makes Facebook apps “far more valuable targets for attackers.”
A popular application’s database could be filled with literally millions of users’ personal details (Facebook now touts 400 million users and Facebook’s most popular app, Farmville, for instance, boasts over 81 million users). If such a database was targeted for attack, the payload for hackers could be incredible.”
It is worth noting that Sarah only suggests deleting apps that you no longer use, rather than closing your Facebook account completely, but the point remains. Personal details about our lives will now be even more accessible to third-party companies and that presents a legitimate safety and security risk for users.
–
ReadWriteWeb: How Facebook Has Changed So Much in Only Two Years
Expounding upon Sarah Perez’s article, ReadWriteWeb’s Marshall Kirkpatrick explores just how far Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come on the issue of privacy in the last two years. Ccomparing specific quotes by Zuckerberg from 2008 with things that he said at the f8 conference, Kirkpatrick reveals how user privacy is no longer Facebook’s number one priority.
“Facebook today announced that application developers will be allowed to store user data for more than 24 hours, removing a major restriction that the company had imposed on its ecosystem for years. Competitors like Twitter and MySpace had no such restrictions and now Facebook is in the same boat. Founder Mark Zukerberg used to say that the rule against storing data was essential to protect users and their privacy.
Where are those now? Privacy, Zuckerberg told me in a March 2008 interview, “is the vector around which Facebook operates.” Two years later, not so much.”
–
Mashable: What Does Open Graph Mean for Privacy?
At Mashable, Christina Warren takes a broad look at the privacy implications of Open Graph, exploring how the onus of responsibility for protecting one’s privacy has shifted squarely on the shoulders of users. This change has been brewing for a long time and likely represents a new paradigm for Internet users.
“I took a look at the different documentations of the Open Graph API and the different social plugins, and gathered that the data collection and overall privacy settings don’t differ from what has already been available. Again, what changes is how that data can be displayed to different people and how it can be integrated in different ways.
Nevertheless, it is imperative that users who have concerns about privacy make sure they read and understand what information they are making available to applications before using them. Users need to be aware that when they “Like” an article on CNN, that “Like” may show up on a customized view that their friends see.
Public no longer means “public on Facebook,” it means “public in the Facebook ecosystem.” Some companies, like Pandora, are going to go to great lengths to allow users to separate or opt out of linking their Pandora and Facebook accounts together, but users can’t expect all apps and sites to take that approach. My advice to you: Be aware of your privacy settings.”
–
Gawker: Will Users Actually Give Up Facebook Over Privacy Concerns? Not Likely
At Gawker, Ryan Tate observes that, despite criticism from privacy advocates, Facebook has grown significantly since the last time the company made major privacy changes. If users didn’t abandon the site then, what’s going to make them abandon it now?
Despite widespread hue and cry in December, and even a rash of bloggers deleting and deactivating their accounts, Facebook’s growth barely paused. In fact it resumed an upward trajectory this year and Facebook is now on track to hit 500 million monthly visitors.
Yes, there are also those class-action suits and complaints to the Federal Trade Commission. But given the puny size of past privacy settlements, neither of those really hit Facebook where it hurts, its growth and its bottom line. Besides, does it sound like Facebook is really scared of rolling back privacy even further?
Tate’s point is definitely worth considering. Many tech pundits have argued that we’ve reached the point of no return when it comes to Facebook. The site is simply too ingrained into our daily web habits for people to leave it in any significant numbers. Is that really the case? Could you give up Facebook?
–
As I said at the top of the post, please share any additional analysis that you’ve found in the comments.
1 comment so far ↓
[...] cringe-inducing privacy changes came out of Facebook’s f8 conference last week (most of which we’ve documented here) but perhaps the most annoying new development is the fact that Facebook is forcing users to make [...]
Leave a Comment