Facebook users risk blackmail, privacy czar warns

[Oregone]

The world’s most popular social network has made it easier for its users to become the victims of “blackmail” by watering down its protections of personal information, Canada’s top privacy official says.

Facebook executives this week unveiled a series of changes to the site, which now boasts about 400-million users. One of the changes allows third-party developers who design games and other Facebook applications to store user data indefinitely. Previously, developers were required to delete the data after 24 hours.

“I’m very concerned about these changes. More than half a million developers will have access to this data,” Jennifer Stoddart, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, said in an interview in her Ottawa office. “The information will be stored indefinitely and it opens the possibility that a lot of people can be blackmailed from all corners of the world.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/facebook-users-risk-blackmail-privacy-czar-warns/article1545444/


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I don't know if the government is being wily nily here or what. What I do know is that I have 101 better things to do than have a facebook page with my life story on it. To each their own

[tbyg52]

1. I would *never* put my personal info on a site like that.

If I ever have an urge to post pics (not likely), I will get a website that I can control myself.

[pnwmom]

2. You may well be on Facebook anyway.

At least on your own FB page you control what pics you put up there, and what apps you use (or don't). And how much information you choose to post about yourself.

But if you have friends or relatives, they might be taking pictures of you, or saying things about you, that end up on FB anyway.

[tbyg52]

13. Nah, I'm anti-social. ;->

Sure, you can control stuff on FB, but they keep changing their policies in a way that causes you to expose more stuff unless you hear about the change and take positive action. It's whack-a-mole.

[pscot]

3. Blackmailed for what?

Who would be dumb enough to commit incriminating personal information to a public networking site?

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. The people who were arrested by the FBI

for making threats against Obama, for starters.
All it takes is some blowhard at the far left side of the IQ bell curve to say
"me and my 3 best friends" have thought of a way to____________ ( insert threat)
and there ya go.

[woodsprite]

5. I just joined a group petitioning to have a FB group removed because

of hate speech. I saw my SIL and niece joined the group that's praying from Obama's death. I reported the group, signed the petition and joined the group of people petitioning to have the hate group removed.

I have a page but have it locked down pretty tight. You do have to monitor your privacy settings ALL THE TIME. They change them in frequently, and it's not in your favor. I have some high school stuff up there and some family and extracurricular stuff - keeping in touch.

[Mojeoux]

10. How to adjust your FB settings My Good Friend Sent This Out on FB last Friday

Hey Kids!!! Facebook is at it again...violating your personal information: As of today, there is a new privacy setting called "Instant Personalization" that shares data with non-facebook websites and it is automatically set to "Allow."


Go to Account > Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites and uncheck "Allow."



When you un-click "allow," FB has a little box come up that says you might not have as much fun.
Ignore that.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. At my West Coast brother's urging, I signed up, under a fictitious name.

So let him and one other person know the name, how to find me.
Locked the controls down tight.
3 days later, I found my brother's name on my FB page, and HIS friends, and THEIR friends,
which updated like every 5 minutes or something.
So now my fictitious ( thank god) name is all over a few dozen other pages?
Ughhh.
Closed the account.
Now I am reading about all sorts of nefarious nosy FB behaviors, I am glad to be one of the
apparently few people in the world who does not go there.

edit: pre-coffee spelling

[Odin2005]

6. You can adjust your privacy settings, if you put up incriminating stuff it's your fault.

[pipi_k]

7. Rule #1...

Know who your "friends" are.


Rule #2...like someone else said...keep an eye on your security settings. Log out from time to time, then search for yourself. See what's visible to the casual observer.

And Rule #3...if you're still suspicious but want to keep in contact with friends and family, never post anything you wouldn't want your mom or grandma or a potential employer to see.


Wanna be an exhibitionist? Do it under an alias and don't post photos of yourself that people can clearly identify.

[cutlassmama]

8. Good advice. Rule #4...don't have a FB page. I don't

[pipi_k]

9. That's cool. But...

people should also know that what they post on internet discussion groups can be just as public...in some cases, even more so...than what gets posted on FaceBook.

I just looked up your user name and got a whole page full of DU posts with some potentially sensitive information on them just floating around out in cyberspace. Anyone who even has a clue who you are could really have a field day with some of that stuff.


I did the same for my own (real) name and got almost no results at all from FaceBook besides a partial list of some people I'm friends with. Nothing else.


Doesn't matter to me one way or the other, but I do think that people shouldn't assume they're safe if they stay away from "public" sites like FaceBook.

:shrug:

[Juche]

11. Everything you post on here could be found too

There is no privacy on the internet.