(no subject)
8/20/09
Dear ACLU-NC Supporter:
Are you on Facebook or know people who are? Ever take one of those Facebook quizzes to find out which superhero most resembles your dog or have a friend who or have a friend who seems to spend most of their life taking these quizzes? Check out our Facebook quiz --you might be in for a surprise when you learn just how much of your personal information the quizzes can access.
Even if you think your Facebook profile is “private,” when you take that quiz, some unknown quiz developer could be getting access to almost everything in your profile: your religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, pictures, and groups. But you're not just sharing your own information. Facebook quizzes also have access to most of the information on your friends’ profiles. This means that every time your friends take a quiz, the quiz has access to your personal information too. (But don’t take our word for it. Take our quiz and see for yourself.)
Once details about your personal life are collected by a quiz developer, who knows where it could end up or how it could be used. Shared? Sold? Turned over to the government?
Now, that just isn’t right. It’s time for Facebook to upgrade its privacy controls so that you decide who gets to see your personal information.
So please take our quiz (or, if you’re not on Facebook, you can simply sign our online petition) and spread the word!
Thanks,
Chris Conley, Technology and Civil Liberties Fellow
ACLU of Northern California
P.S. We’re hoping to take the movement for online privacy (on Facebook and beyond) to the 2010 SXSW festival. Please vote for our panel.
Dear ACLU-NC Supporter:
Are you on Facebook or know people who are? Ever take one of those Facebook quizzes to find out which superhero most resembles your dog or have a friend who or have a friend who seems to spend most of their life taking these quizzes? Check out our Facebook quiz --you might be in for a surprise when you learn just how much of your personal information the quizzes can access.
Even if you think your Facebook profile is “private,” when you take that quiz, some unknown quiz developer could be getting access to almost everything in your profile: your religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, pictures, and groups. But you're not just sharing your own information. Facebook quizzes also have access to most of the information on your friends’ profiles. This means that every time your friends take a quiz, the quiz has access to your personal information too. (But don’t take our word for it. Take our quiz and see for yourself.)
Once details about your personal life are collected by a quiz developer, who knows where it could end up or how it could be used. Shared? Sold? Turned over to the government?
Now, that just isn’t right. It’s time for Facebook to upgrade its privacy controls so that you decide who gets to see your personal information.
So please take our quiz (or, if you’re not on Facebook, you can simply sign our online petition) and spread the word!
Thanks,
Chris Conley, Technology and Civil Liberties Fellow
ACLU of Northern California
P.S. We’re hoping to take the movement for online privacy (on Facebook and beyond) to the 2010 SXSW festival. Please vote for our panel.