Facebook under investigation in Canada - again!
Privacy: Facebook under investigation in Canada
Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Getty Images Facebook log-in screen (Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images)
OTTAWA -- Canada's private watchdog announced Wednesday a new investigation into Facebook after fielding a fresh complaint about a new tool launched at the popular social networking site.
The probe comes on the heels of a sweeping investigation last year, in which Canada's privacy commissioner ordered Facebook to change a number of privacy policies and practices to comply with Canada's private-sector privacy law.
The new complaint focuses on a tool introduced last month, requiring users to review their privacy settings. Facebook made the change in response to the commissioner's first investigation.
The complainant alleges that the new default settings would have made his information more readily available than the settings he had previously put in place.
"The individual's complaint mirrors some of the concerns that our Office has heard and expressed to Facebook in recent months," said Elizabeth Denham, the Assistant Privacy Commissioner who spearheaded the original investigation and follow-up.
"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."
Last July, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart released findings of an indepth examination of the privacy issues raised by the California-based site, which now claims 350 million users worldwide.
Key concerns related to Facebook's transparency and clarity, including the need to better explain how it handles the personal information and how it shares personal information with third-parties.
The report also recommended that Facebook provide users with increased control over their personal information. In August, Facebook agreed to modify its site in ways that would address the Commissioner's concerns.
Since then, however, "changes to the site's privacy information, settings and tools have sparked criticism from users who feel that personal information posted to the site is, in some instances, even more exposed now than before," according to the commissioner.
The probe comes on the heels of a sweeping investigation last year, in which Canada's privacy commissioner ordered Facebook to change a number of privacy policies and practices to comply with Canada's private-sector privacy law.
The new complaint focuses on a tool introduced last month, requiring users to review their privacy settings. Facebook made the change in response to the commissioner's first investigation.
The complainant alleges that the new default settings would have made his information more readily available than the settings he had previously put in place.
"The individual's complaint mirrors some of the concerns that our Office has heard and expressed to Facebook in recent months," said Elizabeth Denham, the Assistant Privacy Commissioner who spearheaded the original investigation and follow-up.
"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."
Last July, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart released findings of an indepth examination of the privacy issues raised by the California-based site, which now claims 350 million users worldwide.
Key concerns related to Facebook's transparency and clarity, including the need to better explain how it handles the personal information and how it shares personal information with third-parties.
The report also recommended that Facebook provide users with increased control over their personal information. In August, Facebook agreed to modify its site in ways that would address the Commissioner's concerns.
Since then, however, "changes to the site's privacy information, settings and tools have sparked criticism from users who feel that personal information posted to the site is, in some instances, even more exposed now than before," according to the commissioner.
posted by Clare L. Pieuk at 1:13 PM
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