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Codebreaker

Facebook data policy

John Moe Jun 11, 2012


This came out on Friday but in case you missed it, it’s pretty interesting.

I’m sure you’re all pretty sick of hearing from Facebook about the changes to its data use policy, this after what the company called a “substantial outreach effort” to inform all users about proposed alterations to the way the site handles the data you give it.

Wha? What’s that? You say you never heard from Facebook at all?

EXACTLY.

Facebook has a policy by which changes to its data usage can be vetoed by members if at least 30% of the 900  million + cast a vote on it and the majority of those oppose the changes. So when it recently sought to do just that, only 342,632 people cast votes. 87% of those people opposed the changes but it wasn’t a valid election.

Now, I remember seeing something about this on Facebook in the status updates of friends but I ignored it because I’m always seeing something in the feeds of gullible friends about Facebook charging for use or something stupid and blatantly false. So when this came up, I figured it was the same thing.

The New York Times describes the changes:

The amendments, finalized in May, are designed to clarify how Facebook collects data from its users and leverages it to drive advertising. It specifies what information is public on Facebook (name, gender, timeline photo), what data an application developer receives once you download its application (most get at least your name, e-mail and list of Facebook friends), and whether your information disappears from the company’s memory once you deactivate your account (it does not).

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