Facebook Fights Privacy Concerns

I found the article "Facebook Fights Privacy Concerns" on the Wall Street Journal Web site particularly interesting as it affects a vast majority of people - from technology-savvy college students to senior citizens just learning to navigate the realm of social media. Privacy is a major concern in this ever-evolving world of online transparency.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a press conference before the debut of Places - a new feature that allows users to share their physical location with Facebook friends as well as tag others at that location. Anyone can be tagged by default unless they choose to change their privacy settings. This allows people to be tagged whether that person is actually there or not. Obviously, this raises concern amongst users. Currently, users have the option of accepting the tag or deferring the decision but if they don't take action at all, the default setting is to share their location with friends. I think Facebook should have prompted users to select their settings before allowing them to access Places. This way users could quickly and easily maintain their privacy without having to search through the sometimes difficult to navigate account settings.

I found it surprising that "Many privacy groups said they were pleased that Facebook had limited Places to voluntary check-ins—rather than constant real-time tracking of users' locations..." To me, it seems unbelievable that Facebook would ever implement real-time tracking of its users' locations but I suppose there was a time not too long ago when people couldn't comprehend a social media site allowing a feature with unrestricted privacy such as Places at all.

Facebook consulted with privacy advocacy firm ConnectSafely.org and it was suggested that the social media site automatically limit the use of a "here now" feature which broadcasts one's location to a wide range of Facebook users also in that place. Instead, location information is only shared with those minors' confirmed friends. By implementing this, I think it highlights Facebook's concern for the safety of its underage users.

It appears Facebook's newest feature has garnered less criticism than its previous changes to its much-debated privacy policy. There was a time when users thought the addition of the News Feed, where you can see each of your friends minute-to-minute actions and posts, was too much of an invasion of privacy. Presently, it seems that society is more open to accepting the changes in social media and the omnipresence of online transparency.