Facebook Changes Privacy Settings to Meet Canadian Requirements

From DailyTech: Facebook first burst onto the social networking scene in 2007 as the underdog to category behemoth MySpace. In the years since its launch, Facebook has gone on to become larger than MySpace in the number of users it boasts.

One of the things that goes along with popularity for social networks are privacy concerns. Facebook has come under the guns of privacy advocates and governmental agencies out to ensure that the privacy of users is respected. DailyTech reported in July that Facebook was in violation of Canadian privacy laws and Canadian officials had demanded that changes be made to how Facebook handles user privacy.

Facebook has agreed to change its privacy settings for users in accordance with Canadian requests and has announced that among the changes will be clearer information on how users who wish to delete their accounts can do so and have the information actually deleted from Facebook servers. The change means the data is not simply marking inactive in case the user chooses to return to the network.

Other new changes will include details on why Facebook asks for things like birth dates and how to memorialize accounts of users who are deceased. Facebook will also provide clearer information on how its advertising programs work. Part of the advertising information will include new permission model that requires applications written for Facebook to specify the information the app will collect and wants to access and require express permission by the Facebook user before it can access the information.

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