Facebook Faces Litigation from Canada, Germany Over Privacy Issues
Remember those photos you posted on Facebook years ago? They may have been private then, but they could be public now, according to a pending lawsuit against the super-popular social networking site.
In the wake of worldwide concern over Google’s admitted interception of personal data from unsecured Wi-Fi portals in the process of preparing its Street View mapping feature, a new spotlight is now focusing on privacy issues posed by Facebook’s methods.
A Canadian law firm is pursuing a potential class action suit against Facebook, contending in a statement of claim filed on Friday with the Court of Queen’s Bench in Winnipeg that the social networking site changed privacy settings and terms of use without proper consent, reports Canwest News Service.
“Facebook intentionally or negligently designs its privacy policies … in such a fashion as to mislead and induce users into putting their personal information and privacy at further risk,” says the Merchant Law Group of Regina in the 32-page filing.
According to the filing and attorney Tony Merchant, the website has retroactively purported to make public previously private material including usernames, profile photos and lists of friends.
Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment for the news agency article.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that a German data protection official is pursuing legal proceedings against Facebook for allegedly violating privacy law there by saving third-party non-user personal information without permission.
As Information Week explains, the issue arises when users upload data about non-users while using the address book and invitation features of the site, which Facebook then stores.
Facebook confirms that it has received a letter from Johannes Caspar, who heads the Hamburg data protection office, and says it is preparing a response.
An article in PC World suggests that privacy concerns are driving down Facebook traffic.
But another article in the Telegraph indicates that privacy may be of little concern to fans so devoted to Facebook that a significant number of users check the site in the middle of the night and before using the bathroom in the morning.
In a May interview with Time magazine, the newspaper notes, Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said expectations of privacy are changing and people no longer want what he calls “complete privacy,” although he said they do want control over what they choose to share.
“Our core belief is that one of the most transformational things in this generation is that there will be more information available,” he stated in the Time interview, adding “Even with all the progress that we’ve made, I think we’re much closer to the beginning than the end of the trend.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Up to 30 State AGs Plan Joint Probe of Google Street View Data Intercepts”
PC Magazine (opinion): “Why Facebook Privacy Settings Don’t Matter”
SEO Law Firm: “Employers May Be Spying on Staff Behavior at Home”
