Facebook Violates Canadian Laws

Recent news revealed that Canada's Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, has declared that Facebook has serious privacy gaps that may affect 12 million Canadian Facebook users, as well as others worldwide.

On May 30, 2008, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) in Ottawa wrote Commissioner Stoddart listing the holes they discovered in Facebook's privacy policies.  They stated that Facebook violates several principles of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). 

Facebook fails to:

• Allow users who deactivate their account to withdraw their consent to share personal information.
• Destroy all personal information of Facebook users who cancel their accounts.
• Properly safeguard personal information from unauthorized access.

Canada takes action

CIPPIC is based at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law and they seek to ensure balance in policy and law-making processes about issues that can arise due to new technologies. Law students work with clinic lawyers on cases involving the intersection of technology, laws and the public interest.

Canada's Privacy Commission has acknowledged that some of the complaints received by CIPPIC are valid. Canada is the first country to put Facebook's privacy practices under a powerful microscope. Jennifer Stoddart says that Canadian jurisdiction is clear, Facebook operates in Canada, therefore it is subject to Canadian laws.

In CIPPIC's letter to the Commissioner, they state that there are over 69 million active Facebook users worldwide. It is globally ranked as the 5th most-trafficked website. Canada has the third largest member-base of users. Demographics show that over 700,000 Facebook members belong to the Toronto network, which is about one-fifth of the total population in the Greater Toronto Area.

Stoddart gave Facebook 30 days to comply with unresolved recommendations. If Facebook has not complied, then under PIPEDA, the Privacy Commissioner can apply to the Federal Court of Canada to have the recommendations enforced.

Smack it with a rolled-up newspaper!

Blogger Bob Sullivan covers Internet scams and consumer fraud for MSNBC.com. He says that no matter what any person does, Facebook is forever. Facebook users who want to delete their accounts are advised to manually delete every photo, every mini-feed, every friend, and every action they ever clicked on in Facebook. Bob purports that Facebook has become a "cyber-cockroach"—that is, you just can’t kill it.

Elizabeth Denham, Assistant Privacy Commissioner of Canada, advises Canadians to make sure they practice good habits. Although she says that social networking sites need to strengthen their privacy policies, ultimately, individuals need to take some added responsibility.

No matter how comprehensive a privacy policy is, it's useless to the person who simply scrolls down and clicks "I agree." Denham urges all Canadians to get in the habit of taking the time to read privacy policies and ask questions if required. She also urges Canadians to take advantage of privacy settings and other mechanisms to protect personal information.

Connecting with people and having fun should never come at the cost of lost privacy.