
In today’s Quick Hits we cover some more Facebook news as well as the story of two people who were fired because of the Internet.
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Facebook Holding Company-Wide Privacy Meeting
In response to ongoing criticism against the company, Facebook has ordered an all hands meeting for 4:00pm PST today to discuss concerns over privacy. AllFacebook speculates that Facebook will announce some kind of privacy change at the meeting with the most likely possibility being a temporary halt to the Instant Personalization Program. Facebook could also change the program to be opt-in by default rather than opt-out.
Facebook Has NOT Hired Former FTC Chair Tim Muris
Recently, several news outlets reported that Facebook had hired former FTC chair Timothy Muris to help the company combat government investigations over privacy-related issues. According to a new article at PC Mag, however, Facebook denies that it has hired Muris.
Australian Privacy Groups Criticize Google Street View
Google is again facing international criticism over its Street View project, this time from the land down under. In a recent letter to Google, Electronic Frontiers Australia and the Australian Privacy Foundation asked the company to explain why it collects personal Wi-Fi network data from Australian homes via its Street View vehicles. The full letter can be found at the Sydney Morning Herald.
Election Worker Fired Over Facebook Posting
An Ohio election worker has been fired from her position after using her Facebook account to share information about an individual voting decision. According to the Toledo Blade, “[The worker] had posted a comment on a Facebook page May 3 stating that Allan Block, chairman of The Blade’s parent company,Block Communications Inc., had just gone into the Early Vote Center “to vote for Jon Stainbrook.” The same Facebook posting referred to Mr. Stainbrook as “a snake.”
The election worker acknowledges “making stupid comments,” but she still feels she shouldn’t have been terminated from her position. What do you think?
Single Mom Fired Over Sex Blog
The Huffington Post has the story of a single mom who was fired from her day job after her employer discovered she operated a sex blog in her spare time. According to the blogger, she tried to keep her public life and private life as separate as possible, even publishing to the blog anonymously, but because she mistakenly used her real name on Twitter. She changed her name on Twitter when she realized that it was public, but a Google cache still showed it.
Although her company acknowledged that this woman was a good worker, they said in a letter that they “cannot risk any possible link between our mission and the sort of photos and material that you openly share with the online public.” This story demonstrates how easily your private life and public Internet persona can become linked if you’re not careful about how you manage your online reputation.
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