Following a flurry of protests in the last few months about its privacy policies, Facebook had hoped its efforts to give users better control of personal information had tamped down the problem. But a group of privacy organizations has now sent an open letter to the popular social network, saying more changes are needed — and Facebook is saying no.
The group’s letter, sent to CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, said it was “glad to see that Facebook has taken steps in the past weeks to address some of its outstanding privacy problems.” It asked for additional steps, including empowering users to decide exactly which apps can access their information, making “instant personalization” opt-in by default, giving users control over “every piece of information they share” on Facebook, and using the secure HTTPS protocol for “all interactions by default.”
‘Constructive Dialogue’
Instant personalization gives Facebook’s partner web sites access to user information as soon as a logged-in user visits the partner site, before any consent is given. The coalition wants this function turned off by default.
The organizations signing the letter are the ACLU of Northern California, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Watchdog, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Privacy Activism, Privacy Lives, and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Other actions the group urged on Facebook include providing users with simple tools for exporting their content and personal details on Facebook so that, if they want to leave the site for another social-networking site, they do not have to choose between accepting Facebook’s privacy standards and retaining connections with friends.
In response, Facebook said it’s interested in “constructive dialog” with consumer groups, but it largely rejected the requests. It pointed to simplified privacy controls that it recently implemented, and noted that the only information that…