Consumer and Privacy Advocates Ask the FTC to Go After Facebook

The Electronic Privacy Information Center and more than a dozen other consumer and privacy advocacy groups have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that Facebook regularly violates its users privacy rights by providing users' personal information to third parties. The complaint claims that Facebook is committing a variety of unfair and deceptive acts and practices in violation of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and asks the FTC to force Facebook to clean up its act. The complaint is available here. The first two paragraphs of the complaint summarize the allegations:

This complaint concerns material changes to privacy settings made by Facebook, the largest social network service in the United States, that adversely impact the users of the service. Facebook now discloses personal information to the public that Facebook users previously restricted. Facebook now discloses personal information to third parties that Facebook users previously did not make available. These changes violate user expectations, diminish user privacy, and contradict Facebook’s own representations. These business practices are Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices, subject to review by the Federal Trade Commission (the “Commission”) under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The following business practices are unfair and deceptive under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act: Facebook disclosed users’ personal information to Microsoft, Yelp, and Pandora without first obtaining users’ consent; Facebook disclosed users’ information—including details concerning employment history, education, location, hometown, film preferences, music preferences, and reading preferences—to which users previously restricted access; and Facebook disclosed information to the public even when users elect to make that information available to friends only.

U.S. PIRG's Consumer Blog discusses the complaint here.

Comments

[jordan shoes]

Thanks for keeping this important issue in the limelight, where it should be.

[air jordans]

Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more.

[How to password protect iPhone]

Facebook should also look at its privacy.

[vibram five fingers shoes]

Security numbers in their files. Certainly all of that personal information and

[buy wholesale]

Imagine Discover’s claim to have 50 million cardholders. That would indicate they have 50 million to perhaps 100 million or more Social Security numbers in their files. Certainly all of that personal information and