Law Student Lobbies for Facebook to Come Clean on Privacy

Facebook has revealed that it will soon release more information on the kind of user data is collects, after an Austrian law student lobbied for it

The social media network Facebook is set to release more information on the ways it collects data from millions of its users after an Austrian law student and his lobbying group called for more respect of privacy laws.

After a three-month investigation into its privacy protection, Facebook will overhaul its privacy policies for more than half a billion users outside North America, reports Reuters.

“At a six-hour meeting in Vienna on Monday with the europe-v-facebook.org group, Facebook officials pledged more openness, a spokesman for the activists told reporters.”

Max Schrems, the leader of the group, is a law student from Vienna. Schrem and his organization have filed 22 complaints against Facebook that center specifically on allegations that the network gathers personal data that users had not authorized or thought they had deleted.

“We have a fixed commitment that we will finally know what Facebook stores in the background, that means a list of all categories of data that are clicked on by users,” Schrems said.

A spokeswoman from Facebook said that they had had “a very constructive meeting” with Schrems and a colleague.

She added:

“Facebook is committed to resolving the complaints it has received through the Office of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner and this meeting is a helpful part of that process.”

And she revealed that they have already started an “extensive program of privacy improvements.”

This comes after Facebook unveiled plans to become the biggest-ever Internet IPO, with the company expected to be valued at around $100 billion.

Comments


  1. Kevin

    Finally, an Occupy movement I can get behind! Occupy Facebook!


  2. Linda Brees

    That’s an excellent way to both make a name for yourself as an up-and-coming lawyer and put the legal training to work.


  3. Weslie

    Law student, eh? Started thinking about that future job yet? May I make a suggestion? Check out JD Match in between the papers and exams. I work with JD Match and it’s a great step for any law student looking for an AmLaw firm job and a little weight off their shoulders. http://bit.ly/wnRt2L


  4. jack

    What kind of challenges do you face and what makes you just want to quit?
    The constant change and 180 degree turns of the military life is both a blessing (I get restless and bored of routine) and something that I hate. I wish my sons had a steady home and normal childhood, but they can only to a certain extent because I have to move my family across country every two to three years.
    http://www.militaryfrontier.info/

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February 9th, 2012

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