Facebook came up with new privacy settings yesterday. The gesture received positive coverage from the mainstream media . But as Chris Soghoian, member of the Cnet’s blog network puts it, “the praise is perhaps not so deserving”. Here is more about it:

“The new privacy settings allow users to customize which friends can view specific details in their own profile. Users can lock down specific bits of information to their friends, friends of friends, or even particular individuals.

Facebook’s new privacy controls
There is, however, a significant design flaw present in this new feature. Facebook users can select which types of strangers can view their profile. That is, a student at Stanford University can decide to allow other undergrads to view their profile, while specifically forbidding staff and professors who have not been made a friend from viewing it.” [CNET]

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While Valleywag has concerns about Facebook employees violating users’ privacy, the Office of the Privacy Commisioner of Canada says on its blog that Facebook users have a tendency of handing out too much personal information . Is that you?

ValleyWag says that your privacy is an illusion:

“The first part is simply risible. Facebook, as a company, may have a policy that employees should respect user privacy. But some Facebook employees obviously do not follow that policy, and Facebook appears to have no effective way of stopping them. “[VALLEYWAG]

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is concerned about identity thieves on Facebook:

“Last year, IT security firm Sophos ran an experiment on Facebook to demonstrate just how willing people were to hand over their information to potential ID thieves. They created a fake profile page on Facebook for a small green plastic frog and sent out 200 friend requests to other Facebook users. Eighty-two of those people responded, and in doing so, divulged personal information like their email address, birthdate, workplace or school location, and phone number - all useful details for the aspiring identity thief.”[privcom]

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