As an Internet attorney that follows online privacy issues, Facebook continues to concern me. Here’s another example of why there are privacy issues with this social media site.
There’s a new dating site created by stealing 250,000 Facebook user profiles. In other words, your profile could be listed on a dating website without your consent.
What’s even more troubling is that your dating profile is created for you. So even if you were in the market to meet someone new, chances are the profile misrepresents who you are and what you’re looking for in a relationship.
If you find yourself profiled on this dating site without your permission, talk with your Internet attorney about your options.
Although many sites can fall victim to scraping, Facebook is notorious for having a lack of concern for the privacy of its users. There appears to be a primary desire to put a happy face on the company so it can go public instead of addressing core data protection issues.
Almost a year ago, I deleted my Facebook account and the 3300+ “friends” because of privacy issues like these. If I ever use Facebook again, the profile will strictly be related to business.
Now is a good time to purge content from your Facebook profile (including pics posted there by your friends) that can come back to haunt you. And it’s also a good idea to search for yourself on Google, Yahoo, and Bing to see how your personal data is being misused.
To your online success!
-Mike the Internet Attorney
