The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) eventually got its way with Facebook! Last November, the social media giant was ordered to revise its privacy policy, which was deemed to be deceptive by the FTC.
In recent years, Facebook has repeatedly come under fire for a series of events that have raised serious concerns about the safety of its users’ personal data. It is worth listing some of the most notorious incidents:
– Facebook allowed third-party applications to access users’ personal data despite assuring users this wouldn’t happen;
– Facebook claimed that photos and videos on deleted accounts would disappear, but the content was actually stored in the social media network’s main frame;
– in December 2009 FB changed users’ settings without duly informing them;
From now on Facebook will not be allowed to automatically override users’ privacy settings and will be required to adhere to its stated privacy policy. Furthermore, every two years, this policy will have to be audited by an independent body. Facebook’s CEO and president Mark Zuckerberg has tried to downplay FTC’s accusations, referring to the changes in users’ privacy settings as “mistakes” caused by “poor execution”.