This might only be temporary though. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29239948 Facebook backs down on policy changes Social-networking site had faced tens of thousands of protests over switch NEW YORK - Facebook backed down late Tuesday on policy changes that tens of thousands of users complained would grant the social-networking site the ability to control their information forever, even after they cancel their accounts. “Based on this feedback, we have decided to return to our previous terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised,” Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, wrote on The Facebook Blog. Zuckerberg said the move would be temporary. “Going forward, we've decided to take a new approach towards developing our terms. We concluded that returning to our previous terms was the right thing for now,” he write in the updated blog. Facebook announced updated terms of use on Feb. 4. Those changes largely went unnoticed until the popular consumer rights advocacy blog Consumerist.com pointed out the changes Sunday. That prompted a clarification from Zuckerberg, although the new terms remained in force until late Tuesday. In originally defending the changes, Zuckerberg told users in a blog post Monday that "on Facebook, people own their information and control who they share it with." When someone shares a photo, a message or a status update telling friends what they are up to at the moment, they first need to grant Facebook a license so the site can pass that information along to authorized friends, Zuckerberg said. Without the license, he said, Facebook wouldn't be able to help people share information. The rapidly growing site, which boasts around 175 million users around the world, has had several run-ins with users over its short history. In late 2007, for example, a tracking tool called "Beacon" caught users off-guard by broadcasting information about their shopping habits and activities at other Web sites. After initially defending the practice, Facebook ultimately allowed users to turn Beacon off. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
There's a couple of problems with how Facebook works. I can see pictures of people who aren't my friends if they tag friends of mine's in photos no matter who's profile is hosting those photos. This isn't a feature that I've requested but something that shows up on my wall. To allow only friends to view your profile you have to enable that function otherwise the default is to allow anyone on Facebook to view it. Even without those functions you are counting on Facebook to stick by its privacy terms yet it does reserve the right to change them at any time. For that matter there is always the problem of hacking or of an unscrupolous Facebook employee distributing the data. For employer's some now require you to allow them to see your online profiles as contingent on getting a job. There have been scams on Facebook where somebody hacked into someone elses page and scammed people out of money by pretending to have a crisis. Now I'm not saying no one should ever use Facebook since I have an account myself but to be very careful with it and understand that what you post isn't private and once you post something it pretty much is beyond your control.
I think this is much ado about nothing. If you are so concerned with how you behave in public, that is your issue. The fact that Facebook has the ability to publish it is just the present catching up with you. As for stuff on other's sites, are you not aware that you can remove the tagged photo from your website? Not difficult, and only mutual friends would still be able to see the content. Actually, you can remove status, updates, and anything else, if you feel so inclined. Luckily, a buddy of mine did not know this when he left his Facebook homepage up and I changed his status to "is frantically masturbating."
Yeah, that's actually happened to me a couple of times. Just last night as a matter of fact. But, assuming these are my friends posting them (why else would they be posting a pic of me?), I know that if I had a problem with a particular pic I could just ask that person to take it down and they would. And you can always delete if from your wall. That just goes back to using common sense. Same reason I don't post pics of myself taking bong hits. I mean, if you're that worried about something like that happening, you probably shouldn't even have an internet connection at all. Not an employer I'd want to work for. Never heard of that. Not doubting you, I just don't believe it happens enough to mention. Again, if you're worried about that, just don't have an internet connection at all. Regular email scams are much more prevelant than FB scams. And if a long lost friend from college tells me (via FB) he needs me to wire him some money....well, let's just say that I'm going to be a little skeptical. Very true. Just use common sense like every other life situation. But honestly, people should worry more about the info Google collects on you every time you google something than what FB does.
