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Do you also have concerns regarding the use of your private data by Facebook applications?

It’s up to you to share your details with an application, but if you do not want to share your information, can you be sure that a friend that adds such an application will not pull your data without you knowing? I believe that no one would consent that a third party can agree on what you’re disagreeing to. This should be illegal but the terms of use and privacy policy from Facebook speak a quite different language (please find them below).

There is a natural risk with all social network platforms. Even though you’re not allowing to be tagged in pictures, but if your friend on the picture is tagged and your friend belongs to the network of your boss, parents, neighbours etc., you will be recognized (hopefully not in a compromising situation) without you knowing it. This is how social network work by nature (works as designed) and the only way of avoiding this risk is that you carefully avoid anyone making picture of you in a compromising situation (by the way you better should have ensured this behavior since your birth ). A phone call or an email to the person who posted this compromising picture should ensure (assuming that you have a social environment outside of a social net platform) that this picture is deleted. However, a look at facebook’s policies (again, please see below) stating that the Company usually backups every information once posted, makes it in theory impossible to get the right for the secure deletion of your information. The net never forgets anything …

There is one group page Let’s BOYCOTT The FACEBOOK TROJANS (or they call them APPLICATIONS…) on facebook trying to convince people to be very careful in the use of application and to ban them. But obviously not too many people are interested in and as such the danger of compromising your data will persist.

Nick O’Neill posted an interesting article on this flaw in Facebook’s privacy and he calls the phenomena “The Facebook Peer Group Effect“.

Besides the facebook application there is an increased risk of computer viruses, specialized in social network platforms. KoobFace is still active and facebook users should all be aware of it.

Social networks will be the new breeding ground for viruses and an excellent article on this subject can be read here. Programers of computer viruses have always been concentrating on high available platforms (e.g. Microsoft Windows). Social platforms will definitely be an extended area for them in 2009.

If you ever wanted to delete your facebook account (not only getting in closed, means putting it into an invisible frozen status), it might be worth to read this article (showing you what a nightmare it might become).

The following article is at least interesting enough for further information if the CIA gets in Your Face(book). Data mining is in general a hot topic and I do not believe that it will stop at our facebook contribution. Without getting paranoid, I feel a little uncomfortable as I do not know if they are interested in general anonymized data only. As one argument found the following contribution, which however is difficult to get confirmed. I’m looking forward to getting more information from people who already made some research on the credibility of this video, please feel free to use my comment page to post your thoughts or comments.

Personally I must say if this is true, so what? Every time I place something about me on a site, a blog, a forum, I’m accepting that it could be used in some way for other data purposes, and more than likely it is, is that something I should care about, is that just the way the modern world works? I’ve not personally researched the story behind the video, nor will I, as I’m not bothered, isn’t it the point that I’m sharing I’m an atheist, or I’m straight, or I am male, or I like music, with everyone?

However I’m concerned about the fact that someone who believes that he’s not spreading any personal information of his friends is basically exactly doing the latter. This is the main purpose of this posting, and I’m looking forward to hearing your voice on this matter. I’ll continue to be part of the facebook community - already for the sole reason to know what is happening on this platform - but I’ll be very limited (more limited as I have been) on the information I’ll share.

Excerpt of Terms of Use (version from 23rd September 2008):

§User Content Posted on the Site
You are solely responsible for the photos, profiles (including your name, image, and likeness), messages, notes, text, information, music, video, advertisements, listings, and other content that you upload, publish or display (hereinafter, “post”) on or through the Service or the Site, or transmit to or share with other users (collectively the “User Content”). You may not post, transmit, or share User Content on the Site or Service that you did not create or that you do not have permission to post. You understand and agree that the Company may, but is not obligated to, review the Site and may delete or remove (without notice) any Site Content or User Content in its sole discretion, for any reason or no reason, including User Content that in the sole judgment of the Company violates this Agreement or the Facebook Code of Conduct, or which might be offensive, illegal, or that might violate the rights, harm, or threaten the safety of users or others. You are solely responsible at your sole cost and expense for creating backup copies and replacing any User Content you post or store on the Site or provide to the Company.

When you post User Content to the Site, you authorize and direct us to make such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the posting and storage of the User Content on the Site. By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content. Facebook does not assert any ownership over your User Content; rather, as between us and you, subject to the rights granted to us in these Terms, you retain full ownership of all of your User Content and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your User Content.

§Third Party Websites and Content
The Site contains (or you may be sent through the Site or the Service) links to other web sites (”Third Party Sites”) as well as articles, photographs, text, graphics, pictures, designs, music, sound, video, information, applications, software and other content or items belonging to or originating from third parties (the “Third Party Applications, Software or Content”). Such Third Party Sites and Third Party Applications, Software or Content are not investigated, monitored or checked for accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness by us, and we are not responsible for any Third Party Sites accessed through the Site or any Third Party Applications, Software or Content posted on, available through or installed from the Site, including the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability, privacy practices or other policies of or contained in the Third Party Sites or the Third Party Applications, Software or Content. Inclusion of, linking to or permitting the use or installation of any Third Party Site or any Third Party Applications, Software or Content does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by us. If you decide to leave the Site and access the Third Party Sites or to use or install any Third Party Applications, Software or Content, you do so at your own risk and you should be aware that our terms and policies no longer govern. You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any site to which you navigate from the Site or relating to any applications you use or install from the site.

Excerpt of Facebook Privacy Policy
§The Information We Collect
When you visit Facebook you provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected by us and Web Site use information collected by us as you interact with our Web Site.

When you register with Facebook, you provide us with certain personal information, such as your name, your email address, your telephone number, your address, your gender, schools attended and any other personal or preference information that you provide to us.

When you enter Facebook, we collect your browser type and IP address. This information is gathered for all Facebook visitors. In addition, we store certain information from your browser using “cookies.” A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. We use session ID cookies to confirm that users are logged in. These cookies terminate once the user closes the browser. By default, we use a persistent cookie that stores your login ID (but not your password) to make it easier for you to login when you come back to Facebook. You can remove or block this cookie using the settings in your browser if you want to disable this convenience feature.

When you use Facebook, you may set up your personal profile, form relationships, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, set up events, add applications, and transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you the service and offer personalized features. In most cases, we retain it so that, for instance, you can return to view prior messages you have sent or easily see your friend list. When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information.

You post User Content (as defined in the Facebook Terms of Use) on the Site at your own risk. Although we allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your pages, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you may choose to share your pages and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User Content.

Any improper collection or misuse of information provided on Facebook is a violation of the Facebook Terms of Service and should be reported to privacy@facebook.com .

If you choose to use our invitation service to tell a friend about our site, we will ask you for information needed to send the invitation, such as your friend’s email address. We will send your friend an email or instant message in your name inviting him or her to visit the site, and may send up to two reminders to them. Facebook stores this information to send invitations and reminders, to register a friend connection if your invitation is accepted, to allow you to see invitations you have sent, and to track the success of our referral program. Your friend may contact us at privacy@facebook.com to request that we remove this information from our database.

Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience.

By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.