Bowing to privacy concerns by Canada, Facebook is going to change the way all apps work on Facebook, particularly how they access user data. Facebook will be further fine-tuning its privacy controls. The biggest change will be how third party applications access a user’s personal data and that of his or her network of friends. Currently, when you install a Facebook app, you get a pop-up box which asks you to allow the third-party app to access personal information. Once you give permission, the app can work.
Now, the apps will have to ask repeatedly for permission as they request new types of information, and users will have to “specifically approve any access to their friends’ information.” What this amounts to is basically more privacy notifications explaining exactly what type of data is being shared and giving users more control over what they want to share. Facebook explains on its developer blog:
When users authorize an application, they will have the opportunity to opt out of giving certain pieces of information. There may be some fields that, at minimum, are necessary for the application to function. We will make it clear that the user must authorize the required fields in order to use the application. We also anticipate that users will need to opt-in to giving applications access to their friends’ data.
On a conference call today, Facebook senior platform manager Dave Morin noted, “We certainly think that good privacy is good business.” But there is also a tension between privacy controls and the smooth functioning of social apps which require access to the semi-private social data on Facebook in order to work properly.
Asked if these new polices would make it more likely for apps to break, Morin tried to downplay that possibility: “This change will not likely cause many applications to break per se, but cause users to more clearly understand what information they are sharing with the application.” Of course, if users decide to shut down access to key parts of their social data, many apps won’t work. But that, of course, is up to each user.
On the call, Facebook was also keen to point out how much privacy controls users already have when it comes to third party apps. Currently, users can block any app or authorize access to data at a very granular level. Although they didn’t say this in the call, I’d expect many of these controls to become more explicit.
Wait, they have Internet in Canada?
No we don’t. We also don’t have amazing women, the alcohol is terrible, the never-ending streak of natural idsasters is just too much to bear, your money won’t go very far at all and the place just isn’t safe at all with all that crime (is that how you spell it ?) and stuff. Don’t come here. It’s a hellhole. Chris will tell you all about it as soon as he sees the red flag waving in front of his eyes.
You better hope you dont get sick in canada either ! The horror !
Being American you likely don’t even know where Canada is on a map… http://www.yout...h?v=fJuNgBkloFE
“Better don’t”? OMG – great Inglish!
Of course they do, Canada is one of the states of the USA…
No — the US is the 11th Province!
I though ti was a suburb of Detroit
Canada is not one of the states in the USA.
Yes we are in North America but not a part of the US.
Maybe you should do some more research before you say something http://en.wikip...org/wiki/Canada
We have some of the fastest Internet connections in the world http://www.worl...dspeedchart.jpg faster than the US obviously
HAHAHAH
Someone needs a class in sarcasm
It was my fault
I should have written it in Canadian rather than English
Sorry
You must be Canadian ?? LOL
Eh?
We Canadians have a hard time gauging how much (or how little) Americans know about us. There are people who make jokes about Bacon, Moose, Igloos etc, and then there are people who just have no clue whatsoever.
Canadians are smart they quotes wikipedia
This is ridiculous. Generally all people will expect privacy while using third party app on the Internet. But Facebook, being a social community cannot escape from this. I don’t know why they plan to change the access of all apps?
And American all walk around with guns in their Because it’s easier than doing it piece-meal for each country…
truthfully, I have many of the same concerns. I was born in the US and my family’s been here since the mid 1600s, so whether you cast aspersions on Canada or not, there are Americans who have the same basic viewpoint.
I like the freedoms of the net and wish it were possible to have it like it was meant to be, but corrupt businesspeople and their criminal cousins have made it so we have to bar the windows to keep them from robbing us blind.
erm…skip that first bit about walking around with guns…stupid comment editor didn’t drop the first line when I deleted another reply. It *should start with
“Because it’s easier…”
So, why the H*ll does it take the Canadian government to force Facebook to do what millions of users have been complaining about?
Why is there no US government concern for Privacy, especially with a service like Facebook, which has repeatedly shown that it intends to exploit its users private info in any way possible?
Facebook, you’ll recall, attempted to say that it owned FOREVER anything ever posted on it, especially photos….and they fought, hard, to keep that approach until faced with mass defections.
Facebook, you’ll also recall, is about to change the privacy settings so that the default setting will be to reveal all of a users info TO THE ENTIRE INTERNET, FAR BEYOND JUST FACEBOOK USERS.
Seriously, anyone that believes that Facebook has the slightest regards for its users privacy is just not paying attention. Facebook, and Zuckerberg (and all the 20 somethings he has hired), seem to believe that they have the right to exploit the details of the lives of anyone that uses their site, always. It is only the continued vigilance of Privacy advocates, and, apparently, the Canadian government, that is constraining the complete exploitation of user info by Zuckerberg and Facebook. These guys are, in my opinion, pretty sleazy characters at their core. I don’t trust them as far as I could throw them.
It’s because the US government has no place meddling in my online affairs. If I sign up for Facebook, I don’t expect the government to come in and force private industry to change their practices because I refuse to leave the service. LOL, you can have your big brother, I’ll take my freedom…
Your welcome Shane. Facebook has said that these new privacy settings will be standard worldwide within a year, regardless of American inaction.
We certainly think that good privacy is good business.
>>>> Fact. It is a must in social media and networks. Good privacy decides the efficiency of an app. Users must obtain a trust that the data shared and accessed by them are from compromised links.
Exactly. So, “Dude”, when did the Facebook commandos storm your house in the middle of the night and force you to sign the TOS?? Hmm…?? That’s right, they DIDN’T.
On the other hand, Facebook did the WRONG thing by bowing to pressure from the Canadian government. At the very least, they should have enforced the restrictions on Canadian users only. Bad move by Facebook.
So “Warren”, how much are you paid, exactly, to help unzip Zuckerberg’s pants in the hallway?
1. Facebook CHANGES the way it handles user info AFTER they sign the TOS, simpleton. Those changes have always been targeted at exploiting the information that users have already posted…..the latest “proposed change” is to make ALL INFO POSTED BY USERS visible to THE ENTIRE INTERNET by default.
2. If you are able to read, peering out from under your retard helmet, take a look at this:
http://www.wash...9070102789.html
If you put anything on the Internet, it is safe to assume that it is no longer private. Since when has the Internet been a place to put your private life?
Shame has no clue.
Why the heck don’t you share your email password and banking account credentials with us then, since “it’s safe to assume it is no longer private”?
The two are not the same. How does bank account information equate to relationship status in Facebook?
Are you kidding me? You think Canada has a “big brother” issue because they have legislation that requires companies to protect privacy? That’s a little bass-ackwards thinking, is it not? When, exactly, is the last time you’ve looked at the actions of the US government?
American’s have been happy to give up how many “freedoms” post-911 including significant losses in privacy. Ever heard of the Patriot Act? THAT IS BIG BROTHER!
Of course the US Government isn’t going to push privacy on to corporations – how could they when they’re invading everyone’s privacy every single minute of every day?
Well said. The cluelessness of some US citizens never ceases to amaze me.
Apparently you have not ever had to deal with government regulation in private business. I can tell you it is exceedingly frustrating. Why should some bureaucrat stand in between Facebook and what it offers to me as a user of the service? If I were so incensed by the lack of privacy, I would leave. Better yet, start a new site with more strict privacy controls.
Your argument is ridiculous. Why are you willing to put information online, but unwilling to have it read by others? That’s the only reason to put anything online. The government has no business getting involved. Using Facebook implies consent to their policies. If you don’t like the TOS of Facebook, I can point you to a page titled “Deactivate my account”.
The argument that whatever is on the internet becomes public is a bit childish… Companies have intranets they access through the internet, people send their income tax reports through the internet…
The internet is much more than posting simple comments on blog pages or reading news about Britney Spears!
In my opinion, governments have social reponsibilities (in Canada, at least), so it’s not out of line that they forced FB to revise their user’s security flexibility. Notice I wrote “flexibility”. To the previous comment screaming “FREEDOM”, well, this will give you more, not less.
What you wrote doesn’t make sense whatsoever.
Why the heck do you need a password to your emails then? Your emails are online; so why aren’t you willing to let everyone freely access them?
“If you don’t like the TOS of Facebook, I can point you to a page titled “Deactivate my account”.”
So FB changes the TOS after millions signed in and now if users don’t like the new TOS, they should simply quit using FB? Amazing! I guess US citizens are used to being bullied and screwed by big corporations.
Yes, they should quit. It’s called personal responsibility, something the government cannot do for you. The standard in the industry is that the TOS can change without notice, I would be willing to bet that all of your online services have changed their TOS since you became a member. With regard to passwords, it’s not that everything is public, its that it is always vulnerable to attacks. If some site gets hacked, and my info is stolen, guess what site I am no longer going to use? Guess how many people I am going to tell about that? The answer is not government intervention in consumer Internet websites, it is the free market. Not only that, I would not trust anyone in government to protect my privacy better than I can protect it myself.
I do not put anything on the net that I do not want anyone to know about or see. Facebook can be hacked. Hell look at myspace that site gets attacked often.
Word
Canada? Ha! At least bow down to some country with nukes (like China), not a country with an arsenal of…. salmon.
Hey don’t mess with us.. in our Military promotional videos we say we did logistics in the first gulf war… we Canadians may not have nukes but we will kill you with paperwork… truth is in Canada it was likely some politician trying to get publicity.. after all we have elections every year.. always some bobble head doll screaming about something. we even a whole level of govt the senate.. that gets paid a fortune to edit bills.. besides your pollies ar busy dealing with steroids..
@Remontti Putkimies This is not xbox live. Grow up.
The kid must be frustrated and jealous that Canada managed to bend his/her beloved Facebook.
“Currently, users can block any app or authorize access to data at a very granular level.”
Authorize access at a very granular level? This only applies to apps you’ve not actually installed. Once you authorize an app, it has pretty much the same access to your data that you do. Unless I’ve been missing something major.
Yes and this is a real problem. But even worse is the fact that each application YOU approve now has access to MY information (assuming we’re friends).
That is not in any way fair to me. Am I supposed to convince my every single friend to not approve data miners–erm, quizzes?
Nice to see that Canada, and our privacy policies, helped pave the way for a bit (slight bit) more transparency and privacy protection for all Facebook users.
It figures Canada would spot the privacy issues. Americans don’t believe in civil liberties like “privacy” anymore. Before you flame back at me … remember … big brother is watching …
This is a private company where you agreed to play by their rules when you signed up for the service. Privacy concerns where the government is listening to my phone calls are legitimate, but if you don’t like how Facebook does business, fucking leave, no one is stopping you…
Shane, how does this hurt your freedom? All this is doing is allowing for more informed consent by FB users utterly unequipped at reading/understanding legal consent forms.
It’s really the principle of the government intruding in on a private company telling them how they should do business. I can understand the need for regulation in a select few industries, but consumer Internet? Really? Why should Facebook be required to change their practices because there are some people that are too lazy/stupid to read the TOS (which says it can change anytime without notice, along with hundreds of other web services you probably use).
Er, kind of like imposing SEC reporting rules? Or, wait, maybe corporate tax law? No no, hold on, maybe it’s your awesome practice of affirmative actions and spot drug testing? LOL. Yeah, Canada’s the bad guy here….
I’ll quote myself here… “I can understand the need for regulation in a select few industries, but consumer Internet?”
This hurts the freedom of businesses like Facebook. Why should they be forced to play by the rules of foreign governments? The next thing you know the Chinese Communists will tell them to delete any messages containing the word “democracy” to preserve political stability.
If I were running Facebook, I would tell the Canadians that we’ll completely protect all the private information of Canadian citizens by not allowing Canadians to use the service at all. Then they won’t have any privacy concerns since their information will not be on Facebook. Who needs a country of 30 million whiny socialists anyway?
Q: “Why should they be forced to play by the rules of foreign governments?”
A: Because they operate in foreign countries perhaps. Jesus…
Q: “If I were running Facebook, I would tell the Canadians that we’ll completely protect all the private information of Canadian citizens by not allowing Canadians to use the service at all.”
A: Phew, thank God you’re not running a major business eh? Whiny socialists? You should have it so good.
“Shane” is probably a facebook shill. Lookup “shill” in the dictionary, and you’ll find a horde of paid facebook employees whose job it is to troll the internet posting “rah rah Facebook!” comments. Ignore them.
The truth is that Facebook is seeking to monetize (exploit) every possible avenue of revenue on their site, at the utter expense of their users’ best interests.
The more hits that accrue to the Facebook site, the higher the valuation. Period.
Facebook’s operating philosophy seems to be about a couple of young, sociopathic Harvard dropouts trying to follow in the footsteps of Gates, and make a Billion dollars each….by monetizing (exploiting) the lives of its users.
Of course they are trying to make money. They raised 700MM dollars worth of investment capital. Their responsibility is to their shareholders, not necessarily their users. This could ultimately prove to be their downfall if they don’t see that the two are aligned. However, that is completely and totally up to them as a company. The government should not be stepping in to dictate to how they should do business. I don’t know about you, but I would rather see more value-added features than BS gatekeepers put in place to placate government regulators. I can assure you that Facebook’s engineers feel the exact same way.
As to your assertion that I am a shill, I am most certainly not. I think that Facebook has made a number of mistakes in its business development that could potentially prove fatal for the company. I just firmly believe that the government should stay out of private industry. If you are so enraged about the lack of privacy on Facebook, vote with your mouse and never go back. That will be more damaging to them than dealing with some ridiculous regulation.
“Their responsibility is to their shareholders, not necessarily their users.”
And there’s the root of the whole moronic right-wing mandate? God it’s good to be Canadian sometimes.
Did you read beyond that sentence? I will quote myself once again so you get the point.
“Their responsibility is to their shareholders, not necessarily their users. This could ultimately prove to be their downfall if they don’t see that the two are aligned. However, that is completely and totally up to them as a company. The government should not be stepping in to dictate to how they should do business.”
If they piss so many people off, those people will leave, and the website will FAIL, as in, out of business, as in, it no longer exists. All I am contending is that the PEOPLE should be more responsible with the data they share online. If you don’t like the way Facebook operates, take your business elsewhere.
Money is the entire point of business. Do you think that anyone would spend the effort to build the world’s largest social network for the purpose of 16-year old girls poking each other?
Making money, yes. But not “by all means”. God, when will these US citizens understand this…
LOL, is Facebook doing something terribly unethical here that I am missing? They are probably sacrificing billions of dollars to protect the user’s experience, simply so they can continue to grow. They are leaving so much money on the table it’s ridiculous…
Erick, you are such a boob! AND a chicken shit! Shame on you for taking back your words about Canadian Currency! A “Looney” is a looney!
Proud to be a Canadian! AND very happy we won the war!!!
Wimp!
This new notification still does not give users more control over their data. Wouldn’t real privacy control mean having the ability to opt-out of my friends’ applications accessing MY data, not controlling whether or not my apps access their data?
I’m with @Stickhandle on this one. Thanks, Canada! I hope my friends opt out of giving away MY information as I’ll opt out of giving away theirs. Read/Write Web led me to it; I was utterly amazed when I took the ACLU Facebook quiz at http://apps.fac...c_privacy_quiz/
Wow.. what is this? TC readers are ridding off casual Friday for dumb Thursday or what?
Where does Facebook Connect fit in all of this?
I’m proud to be Canadian and a friend of the United States.
Imaging… Tim Horton’s Coffee and a Dunkin Donut combo.
you’re a kiss-a$z Simon … you can’t have it both ways. Its either Tim’s or DD. The answer is obvious … but please, consider whether or not you want your choice to be public or private.
Let me start by saying I’m a Canadian so this is not meant to knock Canada. But in Canada we are under 50 million people. Even if every single man, woman and child start a profile we wouldn’t make up twenty percent of the users in the US.
My point: This is all much ado about nothing. Developers will learn to adjust their apps and Canadians are satisfied that their privacy is upheld. If you’re really worried about privacy laws take a look at the detail and size of personal info exchanged by banks and other financial institutions over the net!
If any Canadian have pc related issue they solve their problems with us.
Let’s hope Chris is on holidays and doesn’t go on a Canada/Quebec rant.
FB has always down played on policies. they exploit all user data until someone bangs on them. First all user data, then user pictures and then those apps that user enjoys thinking its so cool but ultimately those app collects data about user and sells them for ad business.
FB is another google who knows about all your social details.
Blame Canada.
I don’t see whats the big deal here. No one pays attention to Canada anyways. If Facebook wants to be a pussy then cave in and throw Canada a bone and they will shut up for a while just like England. Otherwise tell them cancel your subscriptions and shut the fuck up you whining little bitches
Want to understand what this all means and how to change your Facebook privacy settings now to protect your personal information if friends take a quiz? Check out the ACLU Facebook Privacy Quiz at http://apps.fac...c_privacy_quiz/
More info at our blog at http://www.aclunc.org/techblog.