Privacy Roundup #0046 • May 2010
May 2010 was dominated by Facebook's privacy revolt and Google's Street View Wi-Fi confession, as regulators, lawmakers and users pushed back against social platforms hoovering up personal data.
1. Six things you need to know about Facebook Connections
The EFF warned that Facebook had quietly turned profile details such as hometown, employer and interests into public "Connections" pages. Users who declined to make the data public found that the information was simply deleted from their profiles instead.
2. US lawmakers publish draft internet privacy bill
Representatives Rick Boucher and Cliff Stearns released a discussion draft of federal legislation to curb online tracking and behavioural advertising. The bill would force websites to disclose what they collect and let users opt out of most data gathering.
3. Facebook fixes bug that exposed private chats
A flaw in Facebook's profile preview feature briefly allowed members to read their friends' private chat messages and view pending friend requests. Facebook disabled chat for several hours while it patched the hole.
4. New Facebook privacy complaint filed with the FTC
EPIC and fourteen other organisations lodged a complaint accusing Facebook of unfair and deceptive trade practices. They asked the regulator to compel Facebook to restore the privacy settings it had stripped away and to make Instant Personalisation opt-in.
5. Security hole found in Yelp's Facebook Instant Personalisation
A researcher discovered that an exploit on Yelp could harvest the Facebook data shared through Instant Personalisation, including names, locations and friend lists. Both companies investigated and closed the vulnerability after responsible disclosure.
6. UK scraps ID cards and biometric passport plans
The new coalition government confirmed it would abolish identity cards, the National Identity Register and second-generation biometric passports. Both governing parties had campaigned against the scheme on grounds of cost and privacy.
7. Google admits Street View cars slurped Wi-Fi payload data
Google reversed an earlier denial and confessed that its Street View vehicles had been capturing fragments of data sent over open Wi-Fi networks since 2006. The company grounded its cars and promised to delete the intercepted material.
8. EU privacy watchdogs call Facebook changes 'unacceptable'
The Article 29 Working Party, representing all twenty-seven member states, formally rebuked Facebook over default settings that exposed user data. The regulators insisted that any wider sharing should require explicit consent rather than being switched on automatically.
9. Leaked messages show Zuckerberg's early contempt for user data
Published instant messages from 2004 surfaced in which Mark Zuckerberg dismissed early users who trusted him with their personal information. The exchange added fuel to the privacy backlash gathering around the company.
10. EFF proposes a Bill of Privacy Rights for social network users
The EFF set out three principles that every social network should honour: the right to informed decision-making, the right to control one's data and the right to leave. It argued that changes affecting privacy should be opt-in by default.
11. Pakistan bans Facebook over 'Draw Mohammed' page
A Lahore High Court order directed regulators to block Facebook until the end of the month over a page promoting a contest to draw the Prophet Mohammed. The court deemed the material blasphemous and ordered the site cut off nationwide.
12. Pakistan extends its block to YouTube and Wikipedia
A day after blocking Facebook, Pakistan widened the censorship to YouTube, Wikipedia, Flickr and BlackBerry services. Officials said the move was meant to stop citizens reaching the offending content through other channels.
13. Users start quitting Facebook over privacy fatigue
Frustration with constantly shifting privacy settings drove a wave of users to deactivate or delete their accounts. Critics complained that nobody could be confident their data was actually locked down.
14. Google halts deletion of Street View Wi-Fi data
Google suspended its promised deletion of the captured payload data after data protection authorities issued conflicting instructions. One regulator switched its demand from deletion to retention within a single day.
15. Facebook promises drastically simpler privacy controls
Facebook's product chief used the TechCrunch Disrupt stage to pledge a sweeping simplification of privacy settings. The move followed Zuckerberg's admission that the company had missed the mark with its earlier changes.
16. How to get more privacy from Facebook's new controls
After Facebook rolled out its overhauled settings, the EFF published a step-by-step guide to locking down a profile. It warned that users had to take active steps because some data, such as name and profile picture, stayed public by default.
17. EFF says Facebook's new settings are a positive but partial step
The EFF welcomed Facebook's streamlined interface and the restored ability to opt out of third-party application sharing. It cautioned that key gaps remained, including the failure to make Instant Personalisation opt-in.
18. US congressmen demand answers from Google over Wi-Fi grab
Representatives Henry Waxman, Joe Barton and Ed Markey wrote to Google's chief executive seeking an explanation for the Street View data collection. They pressed the company over why it had denied the practice before admitting it.
19. Google misses German regulator's deadline to surrender Wi-Fi data
Google failed to hand the Hamburg data protection authority the hard drives containing intercepted Wi-Fi traffic by the set deadline. The company said giving up the data raised legal questions it still needed to review.
20. Quit Facebook Day arrives but fails to dent the network
A grassroots campaign urged users to delete their accounts on 31 May in protest at Facebook's data practices. Around twenty-six thousand people pledged to leave, a tiny fraction of the platform's five hundred million members.
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