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The Not-So-Fine Print
Posted: May 27, 2010 (03:23) under Humor, Intellectual Property, Security
We’ve discussed the monolitic data mining system known as “Facebook” before. Let’s discuss it again in light of the recent change in “privacy” settings and subsequent public outcry. I think this about sums it up.
 Facebook Privacy People know that when they post information about themselves to a website they and the website are bound by the user agreement that they signed during the registration process. The problem here is that Facebook (and several other sites to which you should similarly give the side-eye) reserves the right to rewrite their side of the contract at any time. Maybe they’ll actually tell you; maybe they’ll expect you to have Techcrunch on your RSS reader and check it hourly.
Remember: this is a service contract. It’s true that you pay nothing in cash, but you are giving them precious information which they then use to make a significant amount of money. Look at it as a consumer would, for that is what you are. Weigh the tradeoffs and realize that even though there’s no cash exchanged, there is a significant cash value to your information as far as Facebook is concerned, which is why they do not charge you for the service. You are entitled to bring critical intelligence to bear on the issue.
I still have my Facebook profile, one Facebook Group, and two Facebook Pages, and it’s unlikely I’ll join the so-called mass exodus on May 31 (we’ll see how many of them really delete their profiles; nobody wants to get left off a birthday party invitation list!). But it is similarly unlikely that I will actually trust Facebook to keep my best interests at heart, or even keep my settings.
Tags: Data, Data mining, Facebook, Social network
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