Facebook again hit the headlines this month - for all the wrong reasons. There is a growing number of Facebook users who say they will erase their accounts on 31 May 2010 - "Quit Facebook Day" in protest at Facebook's decision to enable sites linked to the social networking giant to record user data. The Wall Street Journal also discovered that personal data was made available to advertisers without the permission of the users themselves. The privacy changes recently made by Facebook have been criticised by politicians, consumer groups and the European Union and pressure has been mounting for Facebook to be called to account.
In response to the outcry, co-founder Mark Zuckerberg (writing in the Washington Post and reported on the BBC website), said: "Sometimes we move too fast - and after listening to recent concerns, we're responding."
At the time of writing this article, the number of users signed up to next week's mass boycott of Facebook stands at just over 16,500.
Covered by The Independent Zuckerberg went on to stress that Facebook "Does not share your personal information with people or services you don't want...We do not and never will sell any of your information to anyone."
If you take the figures quoted in the Guardian, Facebook will reach its 500 millionth user some time soon, and nearly 40% of internet users have looked at a Facebook page in the last month. But Facebook is right to be worried, since US and European governments are concerned that data protection legislation is being violated. At a press conference convened this week, Facebook executives have attempted to allay concerns by announcing plans to simplify privacy settings on the site enabling users to share information only with their explicit permission. Facebook now say it will introduce "enhanced, simpler" controls to make security setting more user friendly. For more detailed information on how the settings will be changed in the coming weeks, it is worth visiting this Guardian article.
In a further article, Mark Zuckerberg was quoted in The Independent as saying:
"We need to simplify controls. We've focused on three things: a single control for your content, more powerful controls for your basic information and an easy control to turn off all applications."
According to the Guardian's article, the previous (and contentious) system gave users up to 150 options relating to privacy settings and many have argued that Facebook was deceiving its user base by making them disclose more personal information than they intended. As the article states: "For an internet company that has built its reputation on honesty and openness, and grown rapidly by exploiting the good feeling that surrounds a medium in its infancy, there can be few more damaging allegations."
However, the social networking giant must grow its revenue and continue to appease its shareholders in order to survive (the company is currently valued at around £10bn - Microsoft alone has put in £117m for a 1.6% share). Since its user base can shed light on their favourite foods, clothing stores and their latest purchases, third parties and advertisers will be ever eager to access this valuable data for commercial gain. Facebook's executives will have to find a route to satisfying partners whilst at the same time recover and maintain its integrity and win back the sceptics.
At the point of publishing this article, those now committed to quit Facebook has risen to 23,221 (and that's post press conference announcing the new simplified privacy measures).
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