In whole world, Facebook looks at YOU

[Walsingham]

I guess I should stress that my front line immediate objection is that there have been debates at various national levels over what is appropriate for the government to hold on you. And the results of those debates have been that the government should only hold data it needs.

 

My point here is what genuine reason could Facebook have to develop or license software that can accumulate your facial biometrics?

 

How would you feel if your local coffee shop was doing this? It would be ****ing creepy and weird.

[WDeranged]

Schools are apparently getting wet for this kind of thing.

[Hell Kitty]

So they do have a history of taking data and spinning it off in ways you wouldn't be cheerful about if you knew.

 

My data amounts to my name, date of birth, the schools I went to, a city I once lived in, and a list of people I may or may not be friends with in real life. I can't think of anything sinister they (whoever they are) would do with that, and saying if only you knew... isn't the least bit helpful.

 

So again, what are people putting on their FB pages that is so problematic?

[Hurlshort]

I get that identity theft is a problem, but I think that is a concern in a lot of places. I'd say I'm more at risk when I hand my credit card to a waitress than I am on Facebook. As for employers or the law using that information against me, this is another case of understanding that there is no such thing as anonymity on the internet. Don't post stupid pictures and don't say stupid things. Don't even friend stupid people. It isn't very hard to do. For example, I have students who try to friend me every year, and I just say no.

 

Maybe it is naive. I also wonder how useful this information is BECAUSE it is so widely available. It's the whole needle in a haystack idea.

[Raithe]

Maybe it is naive. I also wonder how useful this information is BECAUSE it is so widely available. It's the whole needle in a haystack idea.

 

To oversimplify that approach in a totally unrealistic manner..

 

 

"If everyone left their front door unlocked, the thieves wouldn't know which houses would have the best stuff to steal from, because they have access to everyones..."

 

 

On a more serious level, it's more the general attitude that they have towards your personal data. It's not about what use your data is, it's that they take it, collate it, hand it over to other people to look at, build psych profiles to aid in targetted advertising aimed at you.. You don't have firm control over what they do with that data, or who they feel has access to it.

 

And it's these little steps at the beginning that could see very bad things happening in the future. That might be a touch paranoid or wildly speculative to some... But that's the key principle that worries a lot of people. The little steps that turn out to be huge changes over a few years.

 

And the needle in the heystack metaphor, yes if you're talking purely random approach to it it's a problem. But to the more organised level of cybercrime (and the potentially unscrupulous government / corporate organisations) there are quite a few people skilled in the arts of data mining. Once you get a few pieces of quite low-key information about someone, it can be surprisingly easy to get hold of so much more if you know what you're doing.

 

Still, everyone has their own level of personal comfort over these issues.

[Zoraptor]

With advanced algorthyms, databases and lots of computing power data mining is trivial. You may be better off if you use basic precautions (turn off 3rd party cookies, use only one internet product per company- ie don't use both Google search, Gmail, Chrome, nuke doubleclick etc) as they make you more opaque and there are easier targets amongst the mass of the uninformed.

 

Perhaps the single biggest problem is that you don't have control over what is in your own 'file' and who it is distributed to. If someone tags an image with "Forename Initial Lastname*, well know criminal/ drug dealer/ paedophile" then Forename Initial Lastname may well be labelled a criminal (via information on database) just on that person's say so, without Forename Initial Lastname even being aware of that labelling, and without Forename Initial Lastname having any right to get the information corrected even if he does find out about it as it may already have been distributed to 3rd parties.

 

*I was going to use a made up name, but it would be ironic if someone actually had that name and I ended up accidentally slandered them.

Edited June 10, 2011 by Zoraptor

[Humodour]

So they do have a history of taking data and spinning it off in ways you wouldn't be cheerful about if you knew.

 

My data amounts to my name, date of birth, the schools I went to, a city I once lived in, and a list of people I may or may not be friends with in real life. I can't think of anything sinister they (whoever they are) would do with that, and saying if only you knew... isn't the least bit helpful.

 

So again, what are people putting on their FB pages that is so problematic?

 

Credit card fraud. Multiple other types of identity theft/fraud.

[Kenjifujima]

That's what I did. Very convenient for groups of external review, for sure. The people you talk to who you really are anyway, there is no reason to put personal information on it.

[Walsingham]

OK, so my next question is:

 

If you are happy for Facebook to do this for no better reason than to further enfeather their nest, then are you happy to register for a national facial database for use in criminal investigation?

[mkreku]

I have everything on my Facebook. ****loads of pictures, embarrassing stuff, shoe size, probably credit card numbers, you name it.

 

And I love this argument, "You would be afraid if you weren't so naive". No. I just don't care for this scaremongering tactics, usually used by tabloids to sell more ****. It's a conscious choice I've made and if something were to happen, I am fully prepared to take the consequences. Seeing as I started using the internet in 1994, so far so good.

 

Oh, I don't have an antivirus program either. Living on the edge!

[Nepenthe]

OK, so my next question is:

 

If you are happy for Facebook to do this for no better reason than to further enfeather their nest, then are you happy to register for a national facial database for use in criminal investigation?

Sure, I have an honest face. :D

[Walsingham]

OK, so my next question is:

 

If you are happy for Facebook to do this for no better reason than to further enfeather their nest, then are you happy to register for a national facial database for use in criminal investigation?

Sure, I have an honest face. :D

 

Perched atop the most dishonest neck I've ever seen.