May 20, 2010

YourOpenBook.org Demonstrates Facebook’s Privacy Problems

Filed under: Facebook — Conspiracy Theory @ 10:38 am

YourOpenBook.org is a new site that demonstrates some of the serious issues with Facebook’s privacy settings:
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May 16, 2010

New IMs, allegedly made by the CEO of Facebook, suggest complete disdain for privacy

Filed under: Facebook — Conspiracy Theory @ 10:17 am

From Business Insider:

According to SAI sources, the following exchange is between a 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg and a friend shortly after Mark launched The Facebook in his dorm room:

Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard

Zuck: Just ask.

Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS

[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How’d you manage that one?

Zuck: People just submitted it.

Zuck: I don’t know why.

Zuck: They “trust me”

Zuck: Dumb f*cks.

May 3, 2010

Facebook “Like Button” Links Every Page You Visit to Your Person Information

Filed under: Facebook,Privacy — Conspiracy Theory @ 9:46 am

This is the new Facebook Like button that instantly spread across the Web upon its launch:

If you surf the Web while logged into Facebook, the button will display how many of your friends like the webpage you are on. That means it sends your personal identity back to Facebook to get the information.
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May 1, 2010

Facebook CEO “Doesn’t Believe in Privacy”

Filed under: Facebook,Privacy — Conspiracy Theory @ 11:21 am

On April 28th, New York Times technology writer, Nick Bilton, tweeted: about Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg:

Off record chat w/ Facebook employee. Me: How does Zuck feel about privacy? Response: [laughter] He doesn’t believe in it.

Via Wired:

“Zuckerberg’s apparent disregard for your privacy is probably not reason enough to delete your Facebook account. But we wouldn’t recommend posting anything there that you wouldn’t want marketers, legal authorities, governments (or your mother) to see, especially as Facebook continues to push more and more of users’ information public and even into the hands of other companies, leaving the onus on users to figure out its Rubik’s Cube-esque privacy controls.”

And:

Zuckerberg defended the change — largely intended to keep up with the publicness of Twitter, saying that people’s notions of privacy were changing.

Though the average user has no idea how Facebook is using their data or what it means.

Where will your data end up?

Then last week at its f8 conference, Facebook announced it was sending user profile information in bulk to companies like Yelp, Pandora and Microsoft.

Full article at Wired.

April 30, 2010

Facebook, Visitor Tracking and the Devil

Filed under: Facebook,Privacy — Conspiracy Theory @ 9:28 am

“Is the New Facebook a Deal With the Devil?”

With Facebook’s release of the “Like button” and similar tools, they now have the capability to track you on every webpage you visit that has Facebook scripts installed. If you are logged into your Facebook account while surfing the Web Facebook has the capability to associate the webpages you’ve visited with your personal identity, including personal network of friends, and possibly even telephone and credit card numbers.
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April 28, 2010

Facebook Privacy Timeline from EFF

Filed under: Facebook,Privacy — Conspiracy Theory @ 5:44 pm

EFF has published an excellent article about Facebook’s Eroding Privacy Policy.

“Since its incorporation just over five years ago, Facebook has undergone a remarkable transformation. When it started, it was a private space for communication with a group of your choice. Soon, it transformed into a platform where much of your information is public by default. Today, it has become a platform where you have no choice but to make certain information public, and this public information may be shared by Facebook with its partner websites and used to target ads.”

Highly recommended.

November 13, 2007

Facebook Privacy Issues, CIA Tentacles, and Datamining

Filed under: Facebook,Privacy — Conspiracy Theory @ 9:53 am

Facebook is a rapidly growing social networking site. Here are some resources on why you should not use Facebook:

  • Facebook Privacy Exposed — frightening details about Facebook’s privacy policy and the Facebook funding connections.
  • CIA gets in your Facebook — “Since December 2006, the Central Intelligence Agency has been using Facebook.com, the popular social networking site, to recruit potential employees into its National Clandestine Service.”

Related story: Government to Datamine Social Networking Sites.