Summary:
Several government organisations in Ontario, UK and Finland have blocked access to Facebook at the workspace citing security risks, work life balance, potential leaks of sensitive information at the workplace as reasons behind the ban.
Allegations:
- When Ontario government employees tried to access Facebook the site was blocked and came with the warning "The Internet website that you have requested has been deemed unacceptable for use for government business purposes.”
- In England, Portsmouth City Council banned Facebook on its computers citing that the staff spent an average of 400 hours on the site every month. The Taxpayers Alliance said the move would stop the "waste of public cash."
- Finland's city of Kokkola refused access to Facebook on its machines for purely security reasons. IT Manager Ja-Erik Widjeskog described the measure as normal when a risk occurs. On the other hand, the community could open up again if safety improved.
- The Central Finland Hospital District prohibited the use of Facebook during working hours because a staff member had joked about the patients in the community service on the site.
Defence:
- Facebook's chief privacy officer Chris Kelly said, "We're puzzled by why governments would ban access to Facebook."
- Kelly said, "We're concerned about this because we think it's taking a tool away from users, a very powerful tool." Facebook also made "preliminary contact" with Ontario officials in an attempt to rectify the situation.