[LINK] EPIC wants help to strengthen Facebk Settlement

[Roger Clarke]

EPIC Alert 18.24 - December 14, 2011
http://www.epic.org/alert/epic_alert_1824.html

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[1] EPIC Urges Public Comment on FTC Facebook Settlement
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Following the November 29 announcement of a proposed settlement between
the Federal Trade Commission and Facebook, EPIC has launched the "Fix
FB Privacy Fail" campaign, which encourages Facebook members to express
support for privacy-enhancing improvements to the settlement. Facebook
users can sign on, "Like," or tweet the petition, and those who wish to
avoid using Facebook can sign the petition without entering the
Facebook Web site.

"Fix FB Privacy Fail" aims to strengthen the final settlement by
encouraging the FTC to take into account the views of civil society.
Significant numbers of Facebook users expressing support for EPIC's
recommendations increases the probability that the FTC will incorporate
those changes into the final settlement.

The proposed settlement contains an eight-count complaint against
Facebook, and includes allegations that the company violated the FTC
Act's prohibition on "unfair and deceptive" trade practices by
misleading users about the extent to which they could control access to
their personal information, and to which applications and advertisers
had access to that same information. Specifically, the proposed consent
order prohibits Facebook from misrepresenting the privacy or security of
users' personal information, and requires Facebook to (1) obtain users'
affirmative, express consent before sharing their information in a way
that exceeds their privacy settings; (2) establish a comprehensive
privacy program; (3) ensure 
that <http://facebook.com/>facebook.com cannot access personal
information after a user deletes his or her account, and (4) submit to
independent audits for 20 years.

Although the settlement is far-reaching and comprehensive, it can be
strengthened in several ways. With input from members of the EPIC Advisory
Board, the Privacy Coalition, and the Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue,
EPIC recommends the following improvements:

- Restore Original Settings. Facebook should default to the privacy
settings available to users in 2009.
- Know What They Know. Facebook should let users have access to all
data that Facebook keeps about them.
- Facial Recognition. Facebook should stop making facial recognition
profiles without users' consent.
- Transparency. Facebook's privacy reports should be made publicly
available.
- Secret Tracking. Facebook should stop secretly tracking users across
the Web.

The "Fix FB Privacy" campaign will run until December 30, 2011, at
which FTC stops accepting public comments. Facebook users can visit
EPIC's Facebook app to sign on to the petition.


EPIC:  "Fix FB Privacy" App
  <http://apps.facebook.com/fixprivacyfail/>http://apps.facebook.com/fixprivacyfail/

EPIC:  "Fix FB Privacy" (Non-Facebook)
  <http://epic.org/privacy/fixprivacyfail/noauth.php>http://epic.org/privacy/fixprivacyfail/noauth.php

FTC:  Complaint against Facebook (Nov. 29, 2011)
  <http://ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923184/111129facebookcmpt.pdf>http://ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923184/111129facebookcmpt.pdf

FTC:  Proposed Settlement against Facebook (Nov. 29, 2011)
  <http://ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923184/111129facebookagree.pdf>http://ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923184/111129facebookagree.pdf

FTC:   Link for Public Comment on Facebook Settlement
  <https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/facebookconsent/>https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/facebookconsent/

EPIC:  2009 Complaint against Facebook  (Dec. 2009)
  <http://epic.org/privacy/inrefacebook/EPIC-FacebookComplaint.pdf>http://epic.org/privacy/inrefacebook/EPIC-FacebookComplaint.pdf

EPIC:  2010 Complaint against Facebook (May 2010)
  <http://epic.org/privacy/facebook/EPIC_FTC_FB_Complaint.pdf>http://epic.org/privacy/facebook/EPIC_FTC_FB_Complaint.pdf

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-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University