Facebook privacy glitch 0
There was a Facebook glitch that exposed private information. In this case, a lesbian in Halifax who had marked their profile as private would still appear in an advanced search of women who like women in that city.
When I read this I was thinking of Jason’s “Thoughts On Why I Blog” post. I would have to agree with him that most Facebook users don’t stand to risk a great deal of privacy invasion from Facebook. And the glitch exposed above would require someone to be savvy enough to (a) realize it and (b) realize its implications. So I doubt the lady in Halifax was jeopardized in job interviews by it. However, Facebook is a concern for many younger folks because they post inappropriate pictures of themselves that prospective employers might use to make an important decision against them (i.e. to not hire them on the basis of their oh-so-gloriously drunk party shot).
So far my favorite Facebook profile image was one student at the university where I work who decide to post a picture of herself smoking a very visible joint. That takes brains, I gotta say.
Otherwise, I can only reiterate what I’ve said elsewhere: privacy is an experience one has (not a state of data) and while, technically, there may not be too much data that Facebook can harm you with by compromising it, the real harm comes from the violation one feels when such information gets used without your consent.
Privacy laws are intended to empower people in a world where there is just so much information on us “out there” that we feel we have no control over it.
UPDATE: the website I’ve linked to above includes this tip:
“…A word of caution: don’t put your birthdate and your address on your profile. Those two bits of data are often enough to pull your credit report and lead to unfortunate results. And if someone you’re dealing with thinks your mother’s maiden name leads to security, walk away.”