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News

• Facebook to launch simplified privacy controls

  Facebook is ready to make up for its latest privacy debacle by introducing new privacy settings as soon as Wednesday.

• Facebook Privacy Fix: New Tool Finds Trouble Spots

  About a week ago, as frustration with Facebook and its privacy settings reached its pinnacle, Matt Pizzimenti, a software engineer and cofounder of Olark.com, launched ReclaimPrivacy.org, a site that scans your Facebook settings and warns you of what information you're exposing to the public.

• Facebook CEO addresses privacy concerns

  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday publicly addressed the growing criticisms against his company for its failure to safeguard user privacy. In a column in the Washington Post, Zuckerberg acknowledged Facebook's shortcomings and promised to do better. "In the coming weeks," Zuckerberg wrote. "We will add privacy controls that are much simpler to use...[and]...give you an easy way to turn off all third-party services."

• Hackers can delete Facebook friends, thanks to flaw

  A bug in Facebook's Web site lets hackers delete Facebook friends without permission.

• When trade secrets meet Facebook

  Social networking sites are changing the way people interact, socially and professionally. Sites like <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9157638/Facebook_Complete_coverage">Facebook</a> and LinkedIn let people establish relationships and store information on their contacts. When effectively used and managed, these sites can significantly increase the productivity of salespeople and other revenue-generating employees. But the use of these social networking sites by employees to manage their business contacts can also have implications when those employees leave to join a competitor. Client lists and customer databases are frequently alleged to be trade secrets. If an employee has used a client list to build a network of links and/or contacts on <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9118182/Facebook_LinkedIn_gain_traction_at_work">Facebook or LinkedIn</a> , does that list lose its <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9140694/A_Practical_Approach_to_Protecting_Trade_Secrets">trade secret</a> status?

• Study: 60 per cent of Facebook users mulling to quit

  Due to prevailing privacy concerns, several Facebook members are thinking to quit the popular social networking site -- at least 60% of them -- according to a latest survey conducted by IT security firm, Sophos.

• A bill of rights for Facebook users

  Like it or not, Facebook has become a fact of life. Many of us depend on the service to share our interests and life events with our friends. In my experience, Facebook membership is hard to resist (peer pressure), and even harder to give up once you get hooked.

• Facebook and Islam: Culture Clash Is Just Beginning

  Is the "<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Everybody-Draw-Mohammed-Day/121369914543425?ref=search&amp;sid=648219713.2743249721..1">Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!</a>" campaign on Facebook a celebration of freedom of speech, or a thinly-veiled attempt to offend Muslims? Whatever your take, the latest Facebook fracas certainly has generated a firestorm of controversy and quickly grown into an international incident.

• Pakistan court orders government to block Facebook

  A Pakistani court this week ordered the government to block access to Facebook in that country.

• New text-only Facebook mobile site designed for speed

  Facebook is launching a new mobile site designed to be a speedier and cheaper option to its main mobile site.

• Facebook Privacy is a Balancing Act

  Despite the headlines and hyperbole around Facebook information privacy issues--and the public exodus of notable online personalities in protest--the reality is that Facebook membership is <a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/05/17/what-backlash-facebook-is-growing-like-mad/">actually still growing</a>. Social networking and data privacy are, in many ways, directly at odds and the solution comes down to user awareness and choice.

• Verizon FiOS TV feeds Twitter, Facebook generation

  The modern big-screen, high-definition television is not only taking on the PC for basic Web access. It's now becoming a social networking device serving Twitter and Facebook users -- as they watch TV.

• Facebook Privacy Complaint: A Complete Breakdown

  The Electronic Privacy Information Center and 14 other consumer protection groups lodged a formal complaint against Facebook with the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday. The groups take issue with Facebook's privacy policies and accuse the site of unfair and deceptive trade practices that "violate user expectations, diminish user privacy, and contradict Facebook's own representations."

• Facebook vs. LinkedIn: Which has the better privacy?

  Privacy advocates' criticism over recent moves by Facebook and Google Buzz begs the question: Is privacy possible in a social network? And, if so, which social-network service does it the best?

• Facebook Fixes Bug That Exposed Private Chats

  Another day, another Facebook security snafu. The popular social network has patched a major security bug that allowed users to snoop on their friends' private chats, and view their pending friend requests.