Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's vision of a completely open
society controlled by the wisdom of the crowd can be admired for its
purity, yet the social network's blasé attitude to privacy has left it
wide open to exploitation from scam artists, identity thieves, stalkers
and bullies.
Prompted by a complaint by Austrian pressure group Europe v Facebook,
the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) will, over the
coming week, start an audit from the company's international base of
operations in Dublin. What the DPC will uncover, if nothing else, will
be some insight into how Facebook views its users and data protection
legislation. The fear is the former are considered marketing
opportunities and the latter an inconvenient barrier.
One of the central questions the DPC will be looking at is how data
are stored. Where, say, Google says it treats personal data like a
stuffed suitcase (yours to take wherever you like), Facebook sees it
more like a bedroom: lots of fun stuff on the walls, but immovable and
owned by someone else. So how worried should we already be? Here are a
few common myths about what Facebook has on its users explored:
Myth: Your friends can post your location
True or false: False
Despite
being the raison d'être of popular casual gaming network FourSquare,
location sharing on its own never took off with Facebook Places.
According to internal stats, only 6% of users bothered with it in its
first two months, and it failed to kick on from there. The service is
still available on mobile devices and you can tag status updates with
your location, but the idea of arbitrarily 'checking into' places
(airports and hotels being popular choices) is no longer with us.
To
double check go into Privacy settings> How tags work> edit
settings> and set 'friends can check you into places' to 'off'.
Myth: Facebook holds on to your data, even if you delete your account
True or false: False
Facebook is obliged to delete all your personal data when you get rid
of your account, but there are two ways to close your account:
deactivating, which is temporary and easily done; and deleting, which is
permanent and not as easy to do.
Deactivating an account is done by clicking the link on your account
settings (accessed on the top right of your screen under the Home
arrow). This closes your account but does not remove it from Facebook's
servers, making it a simple matter of reactivating your profile should
you decide to come back, instead of having to start rebuilding your
network over.
To delete a profile permanently you have to go to the website's help centre (www.facebook.com/help/search/?q=deleting+profile) and submit a request. It's not a huge process, so long as you know where to look.
We're marking this myth 'false' subject to the DPC audit not finding something more sinister.
Myth: Facebook has to provide you with a disc with all the data they have on you
True or false: False
Under Irish law, Facebook is obliged to give you a copy of all your
personal data, but it does not have to be in a physical form. This comes
as a bit of a disappointment to Europe v Facebook, which was hoping to
cost the company hundreds of thousands of euro in pressing, posting and
packaging discs.
According to section four of the Data Protection Act, individuals
have a right to receive a copy of "any type of information such as
written details about you held electronically or on paper, photographs
and CCTV images. You are also entitled to know where the information was
obtained, how it has been used and if it has been passed on to anyone
else." Only a written request is needed.
Right now, Facebook provides a function for you to download a basic
archive consisting of photos, wall posts, messages, chat conversations
attached to your profile and your friends' contact details.
Under this
function, you don't have access to friends' pictures and updates,
personal information and comments you've left on other people's walls.
Just click the link on your account settings page.
Myth: Facial recognition technology is tagging pictures of you without permission
True or false: False
Automatic face recognition was launched in June 2011 to instant
outcry from privacy activists. The software automatically scans and tags
pictures, but the tool was slammed as a way of collecting biometric
data without consent. Legal action was threatened in Germany that could
have seen a €300,000 fine imposed lest some sort of opt-out be provided.
To deactivate the feature go to Privacy settings> How tags
work> edit settings> set 'tag suggestions' to 'off'. While you're
there you should also make sure the option to approve tags is enabled
(it should be). This will give you additional control over what pictures
you get to be seen in.
Myth: Third party software developers know who you are
True or false: True
Under Facebook's developer platform policies, third parties have
access to your 'basic information' once you install their application.
This means your name, e-mail, gender, birthday, current city and
profile picture up for grabs. So yes, developers do know who is on their
books, but you have to give them permission to get hold of your details
first. So make sure you really want that movie/music/TV quiz before you
give it permission.
Be on the lookout for fake apps. These typically appear unprompted,
asking you to take part in surveys or are required to see a
scandalous/exclusive video clip.
Niall Kitson is editor of TechCentral.ie www.techcentral.ie
