The Netherlands privacy regulator has announced an investigation into Facebook's recently announced privacy policy change that is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2015. Facebook's new privacy policy states that it has the right to use the information provided by its users through their posts, messages, and other online interactions for commercial purposes. This change is not very surprising since Facebook makes most of its money via behavioral advertising.
Due to the agreements that Facebook has with data brokers and its tracking capabilities across the Internet and devices, I do not trust the company with my personal data or my children's personal information. I choose not to share my personal thoughts on Facebook because the information may be shared with not only data brokers and marketers, but also insurance companies, the government, etc... My personal thoughts, data points, etc... may then be utilized against me in ways I never intended.
It is a welcome trend that European data protection regulators are investigating Facebook and fining companies such as Google for violating the personal privacy of users. My hope is that the FTC and state attorney generals follow in their footsteps and require these companies and others to become more transparent about their digital collection and utilization practices and impose fines when they have made misrepresentations about their activities.
Facebook and Google are two of the most successful advertising companies in the world. However, both of these companies appear to perform similar functions as some telecommunications entities and data brokers. Should these companies and others with similar privacy policies and practices be regulated as such?
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
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