Facebook faces new privacy attacks

Facebook is facing fresh criticism for allegedly breaching privacy laws.

Law students at the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) have asked the privacy commissioner to investigate 22 alleged violations of Canadian privacy law.

The CIPPIC, based at the University of Ottawa, is claiming that violations include Facebook’s failure to inform the site’s members of how their personal information is disclosed to third parties for advertising.

Furthermore, the social networking site doesn’t obtain permission from members to how their details are being used, the CIPPIC has said.

The law students analysed the company’s policies and practices as part of a course last winter. Harley Finkelstein, one of the students, said:

“Facebook purports to provide users with a high level of control over their data, but our investigation found that this is not entirely true – for example, even if you select the strongest privacy settings, your information may be shared more widely if your Facebook Friends have lower privacy settings.

“As well, if you add a third party application offered on Facebook, you have no choice but to let the application developer access all your information even if they don’t need it.”

Clinic director, Philippa Lawson, added: “Social networking online is growing phenomenon. It is proving to be a tremendous tool for community-building and social change, but at the same time, a minefield of privacy invasion. We chose to focus on Facebook because it is the most popular social networking site in Canada and because it appeals to young teens who may not appreciate the risks involved in exposing their personal details online.”

The privacy commissioner now has up to a year to investigate and render her findings on the complaint.