RSSFacebook's privacy policies investigated in Canada
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published June 2, 2008, 2:30 PM
The federal privacy commissioner in Canada is now investigating allegations that Facebook may be illegally collecting personal information such as telephone numbers, birthdays, and instant messaging addresses without authorization.
Entered by law students at the University of Ottawa, the complaint charges that Facebook is committing a total of 22 infractions of Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
In their letter to Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, the students also allege Facebook has not been "upfront about its advertisers' use of personal information and the level of users' control" of privacy settings.
"Initially when a user joins Facebook, his or her profile is only viewable by other users who have been designated as the user's friend on Facebook (a "friend"). Friends of a user can see all personal information that the user has provided to Facebook for the user's profile. To restrict the information that is shared with friends, a user must take further action and change his or her privacy settings," according to the letter.
Also last month, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Internet Clinic (CIPPIC) -- a group made up largely of lawyers and law students from the University of Ottawa -- sent its own letter to Comm. Stoddart, accusing Bell Canada of failing to obtain consent from its Internet customers for the use of deep-packet inspection (DPI), a technology for reporting on how subscribers are using their Internet connections.
The complaints made in Canada echoed issues raised in the US just a couple of weeks ago regarding CATV provider Charter Communications. At that time, Reps. Edward Markey (D - Mass.) and Joe Barton (R - Texas) sent a letter to Charter President Neil Smith requesting that the cable company put a temporary stop on plans for a new service that collects subscribers' Web surfing and search data. That data was being used for the purpose of targeting ads.
In a statement issued in conjunction with that letter, Rep. Markey contended, "Simply providing a method for users to opt-out of the program is not the same has asking users to affirmatively agree to participate in the program."
The letter is correct: My friends can see all of my personal info that I provide, unless I choose to reduce their access.
Why shouldn't my friends see my info? After all, they are my friends. Maybe the overzealous Facebook users should just set some higher standards for qualification as a "friend."
That's why I don't worry about this... my Facebook "friends" are ACTUALLY my friends, not just random people that I find online or friends of a friend that I only know 3rd-hand.
I'm also not a Bell Canada DSL customer so DPI doesn't matter to me. Anyone who doesn't want Bell looking at what they are doing should get away from any ISP's DSL service where Bell is the local phone company.
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As if the creator's, developer's and "owner's" are not making enough money simply off the client base. Commercializing anyone's private data is an infringement either way you look at it, that is why this information is legally protected. I do not consent to having my online socializing or surfing habits be mutated into a rich database of information that can be doubled upon itself for greater the greater capital gains of the bottom dollar.
This would not save anyone from a recession, and although for some may not be pointless you are definably barking up the wrong tree!
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I consent having my online socializing and surfing habits mutated into any database of information.
It's not like as if I do anything illegal, or surf nasty porn websites.
I post my address, phone number, cellphone number on my homepage, and so far in 6 years, no serious spams. Maybe 10 - 20 spams in my gmail spam folder, but that's all.
I really haven't felt what's so serious about all this "privacy" or "information control" thing.
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If they are found guilty here in Canada of that, this could be just what is needed for other social networking sites in this country to surpass Facebook.
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