Facebook's privacy controls and user data sharing practices

Running head: FACEBOOK 1

FACEBOOK 5

Facebook Privacy Issues Name Academic Institution

Facebook Privacy Issues Many people assume that because they set their Facebook profile to private that they are protected from any potential intrusions or spying by outsiders. But there is a great deal of truth to the idea that it is never wise to write anything online that a poster would not want repeated elsewhere. Concerns that Facebook privacy controls are not enough still restrict the openness of many users; images can still be screenshotted and shared publically by friends. There are also concerns that employers will have the right to demand access to private information shared on the popular social media site. These concerns have an impact on Facebook sharing. Facebook, according to one source, has seen a 21% reduction in “original sharing” or posts created by users, “as people have become more aware of the downsides of sharing personal details publicly” (Hern, 2016, par.3). The hope is that “letting them have some control over who sees what they post is an important part of restoring trust” (Hern, 2016, par.3). However, public posts can still be searched by other users and even if someone does not actually “friend” someone, they can still be anonymously followed by someone unless this feature is specifically turned off. “Following” individuals can still see the poster’s public posts, so any post accidentally posted for public consumption that contains personal information can be seen. Facebook in many ways often experiences a conflict of interest. On one hand, to encourage people to remain on the site, it needs to promise that they can carefully curate the image of themselves that they desire to create for friends, or, in the case of business-related accounts, for the public. On the other hand, the sharing of information can be very useful for Facebook regarding its dissemination of advertising and creation of new features. Facebook encourages social connections to develop between users and one way it does so is intuiting users’ location from data and suggesting friends. “The social network even admitted to doing so, claiming to combine that data with other factors, such as work and education information or mutual friends, to offer up people a user might want to connect with” (Fox-Brewster, 2016, par.3). But many people consider the use of such data to be a breach of their privacy and are uncomfortable even being suggested as friends to people they do not know. Facebook, while it does contain tutorials instructing how users can make data more private, also places restrictions such as not permitting users to create fake names, to force participants to be more transparent (Fox-Brewster 2016). Of course, one obvious objection is why more people do not quit Facebook and refuse to divulge such information. The problem with this is that Facebook continues to be the most popular social sharing network and opting out is not feasible if a user’s friends, relatives, and in some cases business associates are on the network. For users seeking to promote a service, Facebook can be particularly useful. Of course, on the other hand, there is also a darker side to Facebook regarding employment. According to McDonnell (2016), in a survey of “more than 2,000 hiring managers and HR professionals and more than 3,000 full-time U.S. workers, 60 % of employers revealed that they use social networking sites to research job candidates” (par.3). Casual social shots, political posts, badmouthing previous employers, and even hobbies or family issues that could distract the candidate from employment commitments may negatively influence the hiring manager’s perceptions. Furthermore, even though it is illegal to discriminate against candidates if they are planning to have a child, are gay, or are of a particular religious faith, employers can often discern these characteristics from Facebook posts. In fact, some employers are even asking prospective employees for Facebook passwords to more rigorously screen their accounts, so they can see private as well as public posts (Giang 2012). This is legal in many states which again raises serious questions about privacy rights and social media. Although it is understandable that a candidate might be penalized for posting something that reflects unfavorably on an employer in public, reading private posts would seem to be akin to reading someone’s private diary. This raises serious concerns about the legal status of Facebook, given that it functions both as a private source of sharing even though content can be disseminated to a wider number of users (even if only shared to friends). It is not clear according to current privacy law how social media is protected in many instances, and this ambiguity can make people reluctant to post. Furthermore, some employers are asking that employees not post on Facebook at all, which may force employees to choose between the potential benefits they gain from the connections on Facebook versus the detriments it can pose to employability in some fields (even though in some professions it is necessary to use Facebook). According to Titcomb (2017), despite Facebook’s insistence that it has provided tutorials to give users greater control, many elements of what are shared with others, including use of apps connected to Facebook (such as Amazon, BuzzFeed, and Goodreads), and the ability to search for the existence of a Facebook profile using Google, are not obvious to everyday users. The utility Facebook provides and the desire for private sharing result in a continual state of tension between Facebook and its users, as well as entities such as employers who wish to restrict the actions of employees. Legal and ethical restraints upon Facebook use continues to be debated in modern culture.