Early last week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading civil liberties group defending
our rights in the digital world, published Six Things You Need to Know About Facebook Connections. They explain that Facebook has transformed substantial personal information — including your hometown, education, work history, interests, and activities — into “Connections.” This allows far more people than ever before to see this information, regardless of whether you want them to, with internet speed and reach. Here’s the gist:
1. Facebook will not let you share any of this information without using Connections. You cannot opt-out and if you refuse to play ball, Facebook will remove all unlinked information from your profile.
2. Facebook will not respect your old privacy settings in this transition. For example, if you had previously sought to share your Interests with “Only Friends,” Facebook will now ignore this and share your Connections with “Everyone.”
3. Facebook has removed your ability to restrict its use of this information. The new privacy controls only affect your information’s “Visibility,” not whether it is “publicly available.”
4. Facebook will continue to store and use your Connections even after you delete them. Even after you “delete” profile information, Facebook will remember it. We’ve also received reports that Facebook continues to use deleted profile information to help people find you through Facebook’s search engine.
5. Facebook sometimes creates a Connection when you “Like” something. It too can sometimes add a Connection to your profile, without you even knowing it.
6. If you use the name of a Connection in a post on your wall, it may show up on the Connection page, without you even knowing it. (For example, if you use the word “FBI” in a post).
And check out the guilt trip that happens if you try to leave Facebook altogether!
Tags: Facebook, Internet Speed