Canada launches Facebook probe
2008-06-01 14:35
Toronto - Canadian authorities have launched an investigation into Facebook after four University of Ottawa law students complained the site breaches the law by disclosing personal information to advertisers without obtaining proper consent.
The students allege in a complaint lodged on Friday that the popular social networking website has committed 22 violations.
"There's definitely some significant shortcomings with Facebook's privacy settings and with their ability to protect users," said Harley Finkelstein, 24, one of the students behind the complaint.
Canadian law mandates that information including address, sexual preference, birthdate and school attended cannot be disclosed without the user's consent. On Facebook, users must specifically change their settings to keep that information private.
Info not private
"If a 14-year-old kid in Toronto decides to join Facebook ... and he decides to join the Toronto network, does he really know that everyone on that network - by default - will have access to his personal information?"
The students drew up the complaint after comparing the company's policies and practices to Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Facebook refuted the claims, saying the complaint ignores key elements of the company's policy.
"We've reviewed the complaint and found it has serious factual errors - most notably its neglect of the fact that almost all Facebook data is willingly shared by users," Facebook chief privacy officer Chris Kelly said Friday in an e-mail. "The complaint also misinterprets PIPEDA in a manner that would effectively forbid voluntary online sharing of information."
Kelly said Facebook has worked with Ontario's information and privacy commissioner to create a brochure and video that will educate users about the site's privacy controls.
A spokesperson for Canada's federal privacy commissioner's office said the agency takes such complaints very seriously.
"We have no reason to believe that Facebook will not be co-operative," Anne-Marie Hayden added.
The students claim Facebook deceives users about its foray into targeted advertising. They allege the company does not get permission from the user to disclose personal information, and fails to clearly inform users about who is seeing their information.
"Everyone realises the Internet is a little bit unsecure, but because it's Facebook, it lends some credibility," said Jordan Plener, 25, another of the students involved in the complaint.
Though Facebook has recently taken some steps to overhaul its privacy system, Plener said the main concern has been to improve aesthetics.
Under Canadian law, the privacy commissioner has up to one year to investigate the complaint and make recommendations. The office plans to launch a website next week to educate youth about privacy on the internet.
- AP