Facebook addresses privacy concerns, kind of.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in an op-ed published in Monday’s Washington Post, said changes were on the way that would simplify Facebook users’ privacy controls. “We will also give you an easy way to turn off all third-party services. We are working hard to make these changes available as soon as possible. We hope you’ll be pleased with the result of our work and, as always, we’ll be eager to get your feedback,” he writes.
But of course if this was merely about some software changes, they would announce it on the day it went live. Or maybe not make a big deal about it at all. Instead, we are told that the changes will arrive “in the coming weeks” and that “we are working hard to make these changes available as soon as possible.” This kind of PR effort is not surprising given the trouble Facebook has been in recently with privacy bugs, FCC complaints, and grumbling senators.
So will Zuckerberg’s promises matter in the long run? We speak to Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, one of fifteen groups who complained to the FCC about Facebook’s privacy practices. We also talk to Susan Herring of Indiana University, who offers a rather bleak outlook for Facebook.
Also this hour, we hear how to turn your iPad into an enormous iPhone. Easier than you think.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
