Modern information technology offers convenience and a sense of connectedness with the world but every once in a while we are reminded of the dangers of overreliance on technology. With the Internet being a relatively new frontier one such danger is the shortage of clearly defined privacy rights for users.
Facebook one of the most popular Web sites on college campuses generated a wave of controversy earlier in the month when it quietly changed the fine print of its terms of service. The company added a clause stating that it has “irrevocable” and “perpetual” ownership of any information contained in a user’s account and that it reserves the right to use and distribute this content in any way it sees fit – even if the user decides to close the account.
Not surprisingly the resulting uproar caused Facebook to revert to its original policy and to try to explain that the fiasco was a misunderstanding. Although Facebook said its intentions were benign the incident reinforces the hazards of revealing oneself online and mistaking digital networks as lockboxes for personal information. It also forces one to wonder even though users currently have the rights to their personal information and pictures who is to say that their ownership won’t again be wrested away sometime in the future?
The precedent has been set for similar enterprises if not Facebook to consider installing such policies and perhaps not advertising them; in fact some companies are already doing this. Relatively new companies might not be able to survive the public relations mess that might ensue especially because there are so many alternative products for users to choose from.
But in the case of a network as established and popular as Facebook the frightening thing is that most would likely continue to use it regardless of the fine print simply because familiarity breeds trust and because Facebook puts out an irresistibly good product. True the public outcry was impressive but the majority of Facebook users were likely either unaware of or unaffected by it.
Facebook’s premise of secure social networking is undermined by the way that users use its system. Its allure of privacy and security begins with users’ ability to choose who sees their profiles. However Facebook “friends” are often people who they hardly know in reality – and with whom they would never share so much about themselves in a real-world encounter.
A major facet of social networking is sharing pictures. There are countless reasons to share pictures with friends but in practice people too often post pictures they do not want the whole world to see blindly under the assumption that only their closest friends will be watching.
To make this worse Facebook is designed in such a way that if a user has access to a particular photo (via a friend that is in the picture) then he or she can view the entire photo album regardless of who created the album and whether the two are friends. This is further proof that social networking on sites like Facebook is often much less discriminatory than it should be to ensure privacy.
Most students are probably familiar with the recently popular survey in which users post 25 random facts about themselves. According to one count by the Feb. 5 edition Time magazine an estimated five million of these notes amounting to 125 million personal facts have been posted on Facebook in a week’s time. One must wonder if there is a potential cost to being so frank online – especially when users cannot be sure of who is reading. And if these facts are indeed archived is it possible that one might some day regret divulging them and be unable to trace or erase them?
Whether fair or not a person’s Facebook page is perceived as a reflection of their characteristics habits and overall personality. Other people -friends acquaintances or even potential employers – will inevitably make judgments based on the way that person is represented online. One day politicians running for election will have to account for controversial views or pictures they casually published many years ago. It won’t be difficult to shed light on these things. Future politician or not a person’s seemingly trivial actions online may prove to be quite significant in the long term.
A movement is currently underway to compile a Facebook “Bill of Rights with Facebook drawing from the feedback of thousands of users. This is the right course to take. Facebook needs to regain the trust of its users, not only because the company’s success depends on consumer satisfaction but also because it is the right thing to do.