News on Facebook Inc.

Facebook rapped in Europe over privacy

2011-12-21T18:30:29Z

Facebook has to better explain to users what happens to their personal data and give them more control, the data commissioner in Ireland, home to the website's international headquarters, said Wednesday.

Facebook must work towards "simpler explanations of its privacy policies (and) ... easier accessibility and prominence of these policies," the Irish Data Protection Commissioner...

Facebook to boost privacy after Irish probe

2011-12-21T13:00:33Z

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Facebook agreed on Wednesday to overhaul privacy protection for more than half a billion users outside North America, after a three-month investigation found that its privacy policies were...

Facebook settles privacy case with FTC

2011-11-29T18:00:09Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook will be required to get user consent for certain changes to privacy settings as part of a settlement of federal charges that it deceived consumers and forced them to share more personal information than they intended.

The settlement with the Reuters) - Facebook will be required to get user consent for certain changes to privacy settings as part of a settlement of federal charges that it deceived consumers and forced them to share more personal information than they intended.

The settlement with the Facebook users, but that hasn't stopped him tackling the US giant behind the social networking website over its privacy policy.

The 24-year-old wasn't sure what to expect when he requested Facebook provide him with a record of the personal data it holds on him, but he certainly wasn't ready for the 1,222 pages of information he received.

This include...

How to Fight Privacy Pirates

2011-11-04T10:30:31Z

You can take steps to block online tracking, or you can profit if you play along.

From your smart phone’s signals that show where you are and where you’ve been, to “tracking cookies” that deposit themselves in your Web browser’s files, to the one-way mirrors in the mall, companies are attempting to shadow your every move. “The average consume...

Germany warns Facebook over face-recognition app

2011-10-21T14:30:25Z

Facebook has until November 7 to bring its facial recognition software into conformity with privacy laws in Germany and the European Union or face legal action, a government lawyer told AFP Friday.

"We have had extended negotiations with Facebook and have clearly stressed our position," Johannes Caspar, a la...

Facebook under pressure over privacy: source

2011-09-29T19:00:05Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook faces regulatory scrutiny in Ireland, site of its European headquarters, over its handling of personal information, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The newspaper said the Irish data protection commissioner is to conduct a privac...

German minister advises colleagues to shun Facebook

2011-09-11T13:30:09Z

Germany's consumer protection minister has warned her fellow cabinet members against using Facebook to promote their work citing data security concerns, in an internal letter obtained by Der Spiegel.

In an article to be published Monday, Der Spiegel said the minister, Ils...

Nordic countries grill Facebook on privacy

2011-07-12T15:30:20Z

Data protection agencies in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have quizzed social network giant Facebook on its management of users' private information, they said Tuesday.

"This is a common action to obtain better knowledge of how personal infor...

Connecticut wants Facebook meeting over privacy

2011-06-16T21:00:23Z

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Connecticut's Attorney General is concerned over Facebook's use of facial recognition technology to identify users and has reques...

Facebook facial recognition technology sparks renewed concerns

2011-06-07T19:00:08Z

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook has quietly expanded the availability of technology to automatically identify people in photos, renewing concerns about the privacy practices of the world's top social networking service.

The feature, which Facebook automatically enabled for F...

Facebook may have leaked your personal information: Symantec

2011-05-10T18:30:13Z

(Reuters) - Facebook users' personal information could have been accidentally leaked to third parties, in particular advertisers, over the past few years, according to Symantec Corp's official web blog.

Third-parties would have had access to personal information such as profil...

Dealings with Facebook better, says privacy commissioner

2010-12-03T12:04:58Z

A Q&A with Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart covering social media, smartphones, educating the public and much more.

She has faced down Facebook and taken federal public servants to task for misusing their beloved BlackBerries. The spreading use of social media, smartphones and other second-generation web channels and tools has put <...

Privacy concerns dog location-based services

2010-11-29T14:34:11Z

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Facebook vs. Google: Why you're a pawn

2010-11-29T14:34:00Z

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A look at how Facebook responds to privacy concerns

2010-11-29T16:02:29Z

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Facebook chat glitch ignites new privacy concerns

2010-11-29T16:02:29Z

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Problems with bugs in social networking software

2010-11-29T16:02:29Z

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Dislike button scam targets Facebook

2010-11-29T16:02:21Z

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EU wants stronger online privacy rules

2010-11-05T11:58:12Z

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Privacy Heat May Put Facebook in Regulators' Crosshairs

2010-11-05T06:49:20Z

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Google and Facebook to face tougher EU privacy rules

2010-11-04T09:32:13Z

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union (EU) wants stronger privacy rules to give Internet users more control over how social-networking sites such as Facebook, or search engines such as

"Our policy has always stated that data received from Facebook, including UIDs, cannot be shared with data brokers and ad networks."

Facebook recently learned that some software developers behind outside applicati...

How can we keep our personal information off the Internet?

2010-11-04T15:08:15Z

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Facebook privacy issues acknowledged by CEO Mark Zuckerberg

2010-11-04T15:22:54Z

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10 privacy settings every Facebook user should know

2010-11-04T15:22:37Z

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How to delete your profile on Facebook

2010-11-04T15:20:03Z

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Things you shouldn't do on Facebook

2010-11-04T15:19:15Z

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Video scams spread virally on Facebook: What to look out for

2010-11-04T15:19:15Z

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Ways to help secure personal information on Facebook accounts

2010-11-04T15:19:22Z

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What is the Diaspora* social network?

2010-11-04T15:22:59Z

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Why updating statuses on Facebook may not be a good idea

2010-11-04T15:19:23Z

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An overview on the security settings on Facebook

2010-11-04T15:19:29Z

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Social networking: Diaspora aims to be an open source alternative to Facebook

2010-11-04T15:22:59Z

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Class Action Suit Targets Google for Revealing Users Search Queries

2010-10-26T14:37:55Z

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The Dangers of Social Networking Sites

2010-11-03T01:42:01Z

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Facebook Privacy Issues: What’s the Big Deal?

2010-11-03T01:42:34Z

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Why posting personal information on the Internet is not wise and how to protect your net-related privacy?

2010-11-03T01:41:32Z

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TST Management

2010-11-03T01:39:54Z

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How to keep my facebook account safe and secure from hackers

2010-11-03T01:49:52Z

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Hack the Hacker - Why Your Password is a Weapon

2010-11-03T01:47:58Z

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Introducing "Diaspora", the new social network with more privacy

2010-11-03T01:41:36Z

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5 Tips to prevent Facebook hacks

2010-11-03T01:41:02Z

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Facebook Security Risk Online

2010-11-03T01:42:16Z

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US congressmen seek explanation from Facebook

2010-10-19T13:30:56Z

Representative Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas, and Representative Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, asked Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to repl...

Summary Box: Facebook apps transmitted user info

2010-10-18T14:30:32Z

Summary Box: Facebook apps transmitted user data to tracking companies

WHAT HAPPENED: Facebook acknowledged Monday that 10 of its most popular "apps" transmitted information about its users to advertisers and data-gathering firms after a Wall Street Journal article pointed this out.

HOW? The apps, in most cases ...

Did the Wall Street Journal Overreact to Facebook Privacy Concern?

2010-11-02T12:28:35Z

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Facebook changes address important privacy issues

2010-10-07T21:29:04Z

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Facebook offers new way to sort friends, copy info

2010-10-06T11:45:12Z

Facebook unveils tools for creating clusters of friends, copying personal information on site

Facebook is introducing tools that will make it easier for people to separate their online friendships into different groups and copy all the personal information they have posted on the website.

The new features will start rolling out to Facebook's more than 500 million worldwide users Wednesday.

Faceb...

Drive for better: Public safety and privacy

2010-10-22T11:21:22Z

A number of companies try to do right by their customers by installing protections - before a data breach happens, says Ford's Scott Roundy. Dan Kaplan investigates.

It was not too long ago that failures on Wall Street and the soaring price of fuel appeared to spell impending doom for the German official takes legal steps against Facebook over violation of data privacy laws

A German data protection official has filed a legal complaint against Facebook, saying people have been griping that their private information was saved by the personal networking site without their knowledge or consent.

Johannes Caspar said Wednesday that his Hamburg da...

Facebook's tarnished brand has bounced back

2010-11-02T13:26:36Z

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A Facebook Overview - A Getting Started Guide

2010-10-13T09:44:40Z

Summary

Love it or hate it, Facebook is the biggest social networking platform on the internet right now, and with 400 million active members, it cannot be ignored. Quick and simple to join, Facebook gives you the ability to link up with your real-life friends and communicate with them in an enjoyable and easy way.

Features

Perhaps one of the explanations why everyone seems to like Facebook so much, is the fact that there are so many varying ways to use i...

Calif. Democrats to decide on former Facebook exec in primary

2010-10-27T09:12:42Z

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Australia denies targeting Google over Web filter

2010-06-11T22:57:09Z

Australia on Monday denied waging a campaign of vengeance against Google after launching a police probe of the web giant, a strong critic of plans for a nationwide Internet filter.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has called chief executive Eric Schmidt's appr...

German minister sees Facebook fined over privacy

2010-06-03T10:45:29Z

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's consumer protection minister said on Thursday she would quit Facebook over what she called privacy law violations that she believed would lead to the company being fined by German data protection authorities.

Ilse Aigner, a...

German minister says to delete Facebook account

2010-09-22T12:48:58Z

Germany's consumer affairs minister said Thursday she would delete her Facebook account, arguing the social networking site still fails to protect privacy despite new measures announced last week.

"I will end my membership," Ilse Aigner told a news conference in Berli...

German minister: Facebook not good enough on data

2010-06-03T08:30:11Z

German minister: Facebook still not doing enough to protect data, will leave network

Facebook still isn't doing enough to protect users' data, Germany's consumer protection minister said Thursday, adding that she plans to give up her account.

The minister, Ilse Aigner, first raised concerns about Facebook two months ago, urging the network to upgrade its p...

German agency not satisfied with Facebook changes

2010-07-28T12:03:18Z

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's national consumer-protection agency may take legal measures against Facebook if it finds that the social network's new privacy controls do not meet German data-protection standards.

Carola Elbrecht, head of digital projects at the VZB...

Facebook to unveil simplified privacy controls on Wednesday

2010-05-25T16:16:05Z

Facebook has called a Wednesday press conference to discuss "enhanced, simpler" privacy controls designed to appease concerns about safeguarding information at the social-networking service.

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and other senior executives are slated to take part in the briefing, which will be at the firm's headquarters in the city of Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Monday that the social network "missed the mark" with its privacy controls and will be revealing simpler features in the coming weeks.

"Sometimes we move too fast -- and after listening to recent concerns, we're responding," the Facebook co-founder wrote in a column published on the op-ed page of Facebook on Saturday said it plans to simplify privacy controls at the popular social-networking service to appease critics.

"We?ve spent the last couple of weeks listening to users and consulting with experts in California; Washington, DC, and around the world," Facebook spokesman MySpace has announced plans to simplify its privacy settings as it seeks to differentiate itself from social network rival Facebook, which is under fire over its privacy practices.

Mike Jones, co-president of News Corp-owned MySpace, announced the changes in a blog post on the Facebook has added new security tools to prevent hacking and held a staff meeting at its California headquarters amid a growing storm over privacy at the social network.

The new security features, unveiled Thursday, include giving members the ability to approve which devices they commonly use to log on to Facebook -- a home computer or a mobile phone, for example -- through...

Not-so-social networking

2010-06-12T00:16:30Z

FacebookÕs changed privacy policy reminds that users need to be careful

Facebook, the InternetÕs leading social networking site, angered users recently by rolling back some of its privacy protections. The site made it easier for other Internet sites to access and store usersÕ personal data by changing the default settings on usersÕ accounts.Previously, usersÕ inf...

EU critical of Facebook's default privacy settings

2010-10-27T07:46:13Z

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European Authorities Join Facebook Privacy Dogpile

2010-10-27T07:06:41Z

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As backlash continues, Facebook tries to save face

2010-10-27T07:21:27Z

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Facebook Privacy Settings Change Swindle

2010-09-08T17:30:11Z

I logged onto Facebook today and to my utter horror I was automatically forced to page to accept changes to my privacy settings. These privacy settings had defaulted to new settings to replace my existing "secure" settings, which are configured to protect my personal information from strangers.

Now I wasn't caught out by this cheap stunt, but I fear many people who had previously made the effort to configure their Facebook acccounts to only share t...

Facebook phishing scam snares company board member

2010-10-27T07:21:21Z

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Facebook needs to face the music

2010-10-27T07:32:18Z

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Privacy groups take Facebook complaint to US regulators

2010-05-06T17:16:05Z

More than a dozen privacy and consumer protection groups have banded together to protest what they see as duplicity by Facebook when it comes to safeguarding people's information.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center said Thursday it had joined 14 other organizations in filing a complaint with the Facebook, already under fire for privacy policy changes it recently made, rushed a fix on Wednesday for a glitch that could permit users to view live chat sessions of their friends.

Facebook on Wednesday temporarily disabled its instant messenger feature while it repaired an apparent security vulnerability that permitted users to spy on friends' chat conversations and view pending friend requests.The flaw, ...

Facebook glitch exposes chat messages

2010-05-05T20:15:19Z

Facebook temporarily shut down its online chat feature after a software glitch let people's friends in the online community see each others' private chat messages.

For a "limited period of time" chat messages and pending friend requests could be made visible to friends, according to Facebook.

For peeks at the usually walled-off information Facebook users had to manipulate a "preview my profile" feature in a particular ...

Has Facebook Finally Gone Too Far?

2010-10-27T07:06:37Z

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Facebook's expansion triggers political backlash

2010-04-28T08:01:19Z

Facebook's privacy practices draw US government scrutiny as website branches out

Facebook's plan to spread its online social network to other websites could be detoured by regulators looking into privacy concerns that have raised the ire of federal lawmakers.

Four senators said Tuesday that Facebook needs to make it easier for its 400 million u...

US senators voice concerns to Facebook over privacy

2010-04-27T19:15:43Z

Four US senators expressed concern to Facebook on Tuesday over recent changes to the social network that they say compromise the privacy of its more than 400 million users.

In a letter to Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, the senators said they were concerned that personal information...

Senators tell Facebook: tighten privacy policy

2010-04-27T16:30:28Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers told Facebook on Tuesday they were concerned about changes in its privacy policy that would allow personal information to be viewed by more than friends, and options on other websites that would allow third parties to save information about Facebook users and friends.

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Summary Box: New Facebook features rile 4 senators

2010-06-26T03:44:44Z

Summary Box: Facebook's expansion triggers face-off with senators over users' privacy rights

FACEBOOK FACE-OFF: Four U.S. senators are pressuring Facebook to get its users' permission before their personal information is shared in new ways online.

THE RESPONSE: Facebook says it already has taken steps to protect users' privacy as it plugs its social network into other websites.

POTENTIAL FALLOUT...

Facebook Investors

2011-01-03T11:02:11Z

Exterior of Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. Social networking behemoth Facebook has raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and a Russian investment firm in a deal that values the company at $50 billion, Time Magazine, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010, shows the cover for Time magazine's 2010 "Person of the Year" issue, featuring Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. (AP Photo/Time Magazine) NO SALES, MANDATORY CREDIT

CORRECTION Education Summit

2010-09-27T08:45:15Z

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, second left, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, third left, and Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker, right, participate Harrisburg University of Science and Technology building, Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010, in Harrisburg, Pa. Students and staff at the university are experimenting with shutting off Facebook, Twitter and a host of o...

Facebook

2010-10-22T13:39:12Z

Ben Gerzfield, right, field software engineer at Facebook, hits a gong as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, holds it to launch the social network site's new localization services called "Places" during a press conference in Palo Alto,