Facebook reaches deal with FTC over 'unfair and deceptive' privacy claims
Facebook forced to obtain consent before making privacy changes as Mark Zuckerberg admits 'high-profile mistakes'
The FTC said Facebook had made claims about its privacy policies that were 'unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law'. Photograph: Joerg Koch/AP
Facebook "deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public," US regulators said as they announced a settlement over privacy issues with the social networking giant.
Facebook has been repeatedly criticised for changing its policies in ways that disclose more of its 800 million users' personal information without giving them adequate notice. Last year, critics organised a Quit Facebook Day in response to the firm's alleged privacy breaches.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Facebook had made claims about its privacy policies that were "unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law."
The FTC said it had reached a proposed settlement with Facebook that would force it to obtain consent before making changes to privacy settings. The firm will also have to undergo an independent audit of its consumer privacy policy every two years for the next 20 years, to make sure it complies with the FTC ruling.
"Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users," said Jon Leibowitz, the FTC chairman. "Facebook's innovation does not have to come at the expense of consumer privacy. The FTC action will ensure it will not."
In a blogpost, Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company made a "small number of high-profile mistakes."
"I founded Facebook on the idea that people want to share and connect with people in their lives, but to do this everyone needs complete control over who they share with at all times," said Zuckerberg.
"Overall, I think we have a good history of providing transparency and control over who can see your information," he wrote. "I also understand that many people are just naturally sceptical of what it means for hundreds of millions of people to share so much personal information online, especially using any one service," he said.
Zuckerberg said the deal was part of a broader push by the government to ensure consumer privacy regulations from other companies, including Google and Twitter. "For Facebook, this means we're making a clear and formal long-term commitment to do the things we've always tried to do and planned to keep doing – giving you tools to control who can see your information and then making sure only those people you intend can see it," he said.
Facebook is currently lining up a $100bn floatation that could come as early as next April. The initial public offering (IPO) values Zuckerberg's stake in the firm at $24bn.
The FTC said Facebook made eight specific promises that it did not keep.
In December 2009, Facebook changed its website so certain information that users may have designated as private – such as their friends list – was made public. They did so without warning or approval in advance.
Facebook said that company's apps would have access only to the information that they needed to operate. In fact, the apps could access nearly all of users' personal data – data the apps didn't need, said the FTC.
Facebook told users they could restrict sharing of data to limited audiences – for example with Friends Only. In fact, selecting Friends Only did not prevent their information from being shared with third-party applications their friends used.
Facebook had a Verified Apps programme, and claimed it certified the security of participating apps. It didn't.
Facebook promised users that it would not share their personal information with advertisers. It did.
Facebook claimed that when users deactivated or deleted their accounts, their photos and videos would be inaccessible. But Facebook allowed access to the content, even after users had deactivated or deleted their accounts.
Facebook claimed that it complied with the US–EU Safe Harbour Framework that governs data transfer between the US and the European Union. It didn't.
In future, the firm will be required to obtain consent from its users ahead of making changes that change their privacy settings, and it will be required to prevent anyone from accessing a Facebook user's account 30 days after they have deleted it.
Dominic Rushe in New York
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 29 November 2011 22.17 GMT
© 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Facebook reaches deal with FTC over 'unfair and deceptive' privacy claims | Technology | guardian.co.uk
Facebook forced to obtain consent before making privacy changes as Mark Zuckerberg admits 'high-profile mistakes'
The FTC said Facebook had made claims about its privacy policies that were 'unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law'. Photograph: Joerg Koch/AP
Facebook "deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public," US regulators said as they announced a settlement over privacy issues with the social networking giant.
Facebook has been repeatedly criticised for changing its policies in ways that disclose more of its 800 million users' personal information without giving them adequate notice. Last year, critics organised a Quit Facebook Day in response to the firm's alleged privacy breaches.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Facebook had made claims about its privacy policies that were "unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law."
The FTC said it had reached a proposed settlement with Facebook that would force it to obtain consent before making changes to privacy settings. The firm will also have to undergo an independent audit of its consumer privacy policy every two years for the next 20 years, to make sure it complies with the FTC ruling.
"Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users," said Jon Leibowitz, the FTC chairman. "Facebook's innovation does not have to come at the expense of consumer privacy. The FTC action will ensure it will not."
In a blogpost, Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company made a "small number of high-profile mistakes."
"I founded Facebook on the idea that people want to share and connect with people in their lives, but to do this everyone needs complete control over who they share with at all times," said Zuckerberg.
"Overall, I think we have a good history of providing transparency and control over who can see your information," he wrote. "I also understand that many people are just naturally sceptical of what it means for hundreds of millions of people to share so much personal information online, especially using any one service," he said.
Zuckerberg said the deal was part of a broader push by the government to ensure consumer privacy regulations from other companies, including Google and Twitter. "For Facebook, this means we're making a clear and formal long-term commitment to do the things we've always tried to do and planned to keep doing – giving you tools to control who can see your information and then making sure only those people you intend can see it," he said.
Facebook is currently lining up a $100bn floatation that could come as early as next April. The initial public offering (IPO) values Zuckerberg's stake in the firm at $24bn.
The FTC said Facebook made eight specific promises that it did not keep.
In December 2009, Facebook changed its website so certain information that users may have designated as private – such as their friends list – was made public. They did so without warning or approval in advance.
Facebook said that company's apps would have access only to the information that they needed to operate. In fact, the apps could access nearly all of users' personal data – data the apps didn't need, said the FTC.
Facebook told users they could restrict sharing of data to limited audiences – for example with Friends Only. In fact, selecting Friends Only did not prevent their information from being shared with third-party applications their friends used.
Facebook had a Verified Apps programme, and claimed it certified the security of participating apps. It didn't.
Facebook promised users that it would not share their personal information with advertisers. It did.
Facebook claimed that when users deactivated or deleted their accounts, their photos and videos would be inaccessible. But Facebook allowed access to the content, even after users had deactivated or deleted their accounts.
Facebook claimed that it complied with the US–EU Safe Harbour Framework that governs data transfer between the US and the European Union. It didn't.
In future, the firm will be required to obtain consent from its users ahead of making changes that change their privacy settings, and it will be required to prevent anyone from accessing a Facebook user's account 30 days after they have deleted it.
Dominic Rushe in New York
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 29 November 2011 22.17 GMT
© 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Facebook reaches deal with FTC over 'unfair and deceptive' privacy claims | Technology | guardian.co.uk
