Summary:
Facebook's privacy controls do not protect its users privacy under federal law. The US federal courts' failure to adapt the Fourth Amendment to the evolving realities of Internet architecture have led to criticisms of Facebook's weak and shifting privacy rules.
Allegations:
- Despite Facebook's privacy controls and increasing awareness of privacy issues, the majority of its content created remains viewable to the public. The main reasons for it being, consumer confusion and unawareness about the platform's unwieldy privacy settings.
- One 2011 article noted that "even when the government lacks reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and the user opts for the strictest privacy controls, Facebook users still cannot expect federal law to stop their 'private' content and communications from being used against them."
- The '2013 mass surveillance disclosures' identified Facebook as a participant in the US National Security Administration's PRISM programme.
Defence:
- According to Facebook, it responds to government requests for data in accordance with applicable law and its own terms of service. Each request they receive is carefully reviewed for legal sufficiency and may be rejected or further probed if the requests appear overly broad or vague.
- Facebook's privacy policy states, "We may also share information when we have a good faith belief it is necessary to prevent fraud or other illegal activity, to prevent imminent bodily harm, or to protect ourselves and you from people violating our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, courts or other government entities."
- In 2010, Facebook revised its privacy policy to now disclose the number of requests it receives for user information from governments around the world.