Does Facebook’s settlement with FTC over privacy charges go far enough?

America’s Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with Facebook in its investigation into the social networking site’s privacy practices. The FTC charged that Facebook “deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.” Furthermore, it said that “claims that Facebook made [about privacy] were unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law.” The FTC listed eight complaints, including that Facebook shared personal information with advertisers after promising not to, and that it continued to allow access to content after users had deleted accounts. Under the terms of the settlement, Facebook must obtain explicit permission from users before it can make changes to the site that would override an individual’s privacy preferences. It must also ensure that deleted data is inaccessible, and must put a “comprehensive privacy program” into place. [caption id=“attachment_145049” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“It will remain up to the digital rights and privacy campaigners to keep an eye not just on Facebook but on rest of the American tech industry. Getty Images”]  [/caption] The FTC will be ensuring compliance by requiring Facebook to get an independent audit within the next 180 days and then once every two years for the next two decades. In a blog post, Marc Zuckerberg admits that Facebook has made “a bunch of mistakes”, but points out that the company has already addressed some of the issues raised by the FTC. Zuckerberg also announced the creation of two new roles: Michael Richter takes the position of chief privacy officer for products, to address internal standards; Erin Egan will become chief privacy officer for policy, to “lead our engagement in the global public discourse and debate about online privacy and ensure that feedback from regulators, legislators, experts and academics from around the world is incorporated into Facebook’s practices and policies.” When it comes to eroding users’ privacy, Facebook has always taken the ‘two steps forward, one step back’ approach. Says AllThingsD, in a round up of Zuckerberg’s previous posts:

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s pattern on privacy is clear. Launch new stuff that pushes the boundaries of what people consider comfortable. Apologize and assure users that they control their information, but rarely pull back entirely, and usually reintroduce similar features at a later date when people seem more ready for it. […] There are some common themes. Zuckerberg almost always tells users that change is hard, often referring back to the early days of Facebook when it had barely any of the features people know and love today. He says sharing and a more open and connected world are good, and often he says he appreciates all the feedback. Most of all, Zuckerberg seems to take pride in offering an explicit, earnest apology, but doesn’t actually admit he was wrong, just that he’s sorry for how things were rolled out or perceived.

But not everyone is satisfied. Whilst Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), said that the settlement seemed “very fair”, he also said that it did not go far enough. The settlement doesn’t force Facebook to reverse changes its made in its data sharing practices in 2009. Said Rotenberg:

“The practical consequence is that the company will be able to continue to use and market and disclose information from users that we believe was improperly obtained.”

And Jeffrey Chester, executive director of Center for Digital Democracy, said that Facebook is still collecting huge amount of data:

“Since 2007, the social media giant has purposefully worked to erode the concept of privacy by disingenuously claiming users want to share all their personal information. I believe Facebook will try and continue the largely invisible to users tactics that harvest and distribute tremendous amounts of information about users and their networks.”

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The FTC’s settlement with Facebook is undoubtedly a step forward, but the USA still lacks a comprehensive privacy law. Instead, it will remain up to the digital rights and privacy campaigners to keep an eye not just on Facebook but on rest of the American tech industry. Of course, the state of privacy law in the US doesn’t just affect Americans. Facebook has users worldwide, so its policies hit millions of people who have no say in how the site works. What do you think of Facebook’s privacy policies? Let us know in the comments.