Facebook
is a useful platform, be it finding your oldest (nowhere to locate) pal or a
distant relative living miles away. The flexibility and user-friendly interface
it provides has given this social networking site an edge over others in the
industry. It enjoys being one of the most popular social networking platforms.
Owing to the user-friendly applications, it seeks revenue from more than 800
million users who play games, display photos and interact using the site. But
the recent security issues have given Facebook a reason to revise its privacy
policy. And there could be more than what actually seems a simple platform.
While
a site may not be intended to harm anyone intentionally, there is large
possibility of it getting misused for one reason or another. The Federal Trade
Commission has come in talks with Facebook, revealing a concern to revamp its
privacy policy. The Federal Trade Commission has found that the social
networking site violated users’ privacy when it changed default privacy
settings. This change disclosed more user information than was previously
available to the public, making it more susceptible to be misused.
The
agreement directed Facebook to get user’s approval before sharing material(s).
There is probability of an annual review of the privacy practices being done
autonomously. The concern arises out of a complaint filed by the Electronic
Privacy Information Center in year 2009. The complaint pointed to users
revealing crucial data like profile photos, names, lists of friends, network
they belong to, etc. This seems a crucial issue for the good-will and revenue
generating capacity which Facebook enjoys in the social media market. There
could be substantial loss of revenue, leading to gain for other popular
networking sites like Twitter.
Such
a security breach can be discouraging for the users, prompting them to opt out
of this networking site. The possibility of misusing personal data only
enhances if such issues remain unattended for long. This complaint was attended
to by attempting to close the accounts responsible for breaching. The
susceptibility to viruses may be detrimental to users. They may opt not to use
this platform at all. For others, the new changes may seem biting. Although the
changes done by Facebook can be frustrating for its users, they are
meant for the betterment. Users now have the options of revealing their private
information either to select categories or keep them restricted. This,
apparently, avoids the possibility of the data getting misused by hackers.
According
to a Facebook spokesperson, the social networking site is working to eliminate
all the violating materials from its site. Protecting its users’ private policy
is of utmost concern. Facebook is taking the necessary steps to identify the
culprit(s) and limit the damage to the minimum.
However,
experts are not ruling out the possibility of another troubling attempt. And it
would not be surprising to find an elevated hitch. Only if Facebook prepares in
advance to combat another spam! The developers find a wide scope in Facebook
when creating games and applications. But the flexibility can be an invitation
to hackers all over. It becomes essentially important to ascertain the
credibility of programmers. Security should not be the price for convenience.
There
is a “Privacy” link at the bottom of every Facebook page. The page is linked to
“A guide to privacy on Facebook,” which describes the current functions and
policies. You can use the “Preview my profile” option to know the appearance of
your profile on the website. This could help you in keeping track of the
information you want others to view (and hide).
About
the author: Alia Haley is a blogger who has a weakness for fashion accessories, especially shoes and
bags. She loves expensive phones and is planning to add sony
ericsson android.
