I never usually worried about my privacy online, but now that I have credit cards and use online banking, it scares the shit out of me that my personal information could be shared with who knows how many people and they have the ability to make my life a living hell. Privacy is defined as “the state of being free from intrusion or disturbance in one’s private life or affairs.” Also, it is information that is revealed selectively, and content of which is private differs among cultures and individuals. To an extent, it is an individual’s responsibility to keep important information to themselves and not display it on the internet, but in some cases individuals have no control. It has been a big issue that employers will check the Facebooks of future or current employees and if they see pictures or information they don’t like, then the individual will not get hired. This is an example of how you are responsible for yourself. It was the person’s decision to put that information and pictures on their Facebook, so they need to face the consequences.
Also, your information from external sites is being sent to Facebook to allow targeted advertisements and it shares your activities with your friends or whoever can view your profile. This procedure is run by Beacon Advertising. Beacon is a part of Facebook’s advertising system and is also partners with sites such as; eBay, CBS, Fandango, Travelocity, etc. If you have ever experienced using one of these sites, you might have noticed that information of your activities then shows up on Facebook. In 2007, the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, posted an apology in one of his blogs. In the blog, Zuckerberg apologizes and takes blame for the violations of privacy. In an article for Forbes.com, he states that “We simply did a bad job with this release, and I apologize for it.” In this same article, it goes on to say how due to the Facebook group, “Petition: Facebook, stop invading my privacy!”, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will add an opt-out of Beacon button on the privacy settings. This will allow all Facebook users to end the violation of privacy if they choose to turn it off. Research shows that of the sites 50 million users, only 70,000 users (0.2%) are members of this group. This means that the rest of the 50 million users most likely don’t know what Beacon is and won’t know that there is an opt-out button.
I have experienced the privacy violation that I discussed in the paragraph above twice. One time was when I signed up for a March Madness bracket on CBS Sportsline and the second time was when I ordered tickets for The Dark Knight on Fandango. After I submitted my brackets on CBS Sportsline, the next time I signed into Facebook I noticed that I had a new application. I don’t quite remember the name of it, but it had to do with CBS and March Madness brackets. After I purchased my tickets on Fandango, I had received an application on Facebook for Fandango. This whole situation did not really bother me that much, because I didn’t mind the two applications, but what if I had purchased something I didn’t want anybody to know about? I tried signing up for one of the Fantasy football leagues on CBS Sportsline to see if the application would show up, but it didn’t.
"Facebook Beacon." Wikipedia. 26 Sept. 2008
Greenberg, Andy. "Facebook's Overblown Privact Problems." 5 Dec. 2007. Forbes. 26 Sept. 2008
"Privacy." Wikipedia. 26 Sept. 2008
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